Philadelphia Korean War Memorial

Philadelphia Korean War Memorial
United States

The memorial's western facade is shown, composed of two 16-foot-tall black granite monoliths with inscriptions. Veterans Day wreaths are on stands in front of the monoliths. Several more black granite monoliths are beyond and to the sides of the facade, arranged in a square pattern. A single black granite column is visible in the middle of the square with the year 1950 at the top and the inscribed names of those killed or missing in action are listed below.

The memorial's western facade with Veterans Day wreaths
For all Korean War servicemen from Philadelphia and the four surrounding counties.
Established June 22, 2002 (2002-06-22)
Location 39°56′42″N 75°08′36″W / 39.944911°N 75.143425°W / 39.944911; -75.143425Coordinates: 39°56′42″N 75°08′36″W / 39.944911°N 75.143425°W / 39.944911; -75.143425
109 Spruce St.
Designed by Jirair Youssefian, Vitetta Architects and Engineers
The Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn's Landing for Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties

The Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia was initially dedicated on June 22, 2002[1] and was formally rededicated on Memorial Day, May 28, 2007 after additional expansion work was completed.[2] The memorial includes the names of more than 600 servicemen who were killed in action or listed as missing in action during the Korean War from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.[3] Veterans Day and Memorial Day services are held annually at the site.[4]

The memorial is located in the Korean War Memorial Park within the Society Hill neighborhood, about 0.5 mi (0.80 km) from Independence Hall. The park is bounded on the south by Spruce Street, on the north by Dock Street, on the east by Christopher Columbus Boulevard and on the west by 38th Parallel Place. Interstate 95 runs under the eastern part of the park, while the memorial is located in the western section.[5]

The memorial is owned by the city of Philadelphia and leased to the Friends of the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial, a non-profit organization based in the city.[2]

Design

The memorial was designed by Jirair Youssefian of Vitetta Architects and Engineers.[6] The site was cleared and construction began in 1992.[2] After a decade of planning and fundraising, J.J. White Inc. completed initial construction in June 2002.[2] The same company completed expansion work in 2007 after additional construction funds were received in 2005, finally realizing the original design specifications which had been compromised earlier by insufficient funds.[2]

The central part of the memorial includes four 16 ft (4.9 m) tall black granite-clad columns which list all the Philadelphia area Korean War casualties—those killed in action, missing in action, or taken as a prisoner of war but never returned and presumed dead—from each year of the four-year conflict (1950-1953). The memorial also features six granite-clad monoliths with information sandblasted onto the surfaces including the major units involved in the war, specific events and battles, maps of the four phases of the war, laser engraved photographs, and markers honoring other participants such as the nurses of the Korean War. In 2007, a bronze statue entitled The Final Farewell by artist Lorann Jacobs was added to the site along with additional landscaping and granite pavers to create a new platform for the entire memorial.[2][3]

See Media related to Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Wikimedia Commons for more detailed images of all panels, including all names, maps, timelines and inscriptions

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Korean War Memorials: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania". kwva.org. Korean War Veterans Association. n.d. Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rockafellow, Barbara (n.d.). "Korean War Memorial" (PDF). jjwhiteinc.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "About the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn's Landing". wixsite.com. Friends of the Philadelphia Korean War Memorial at Penn's Landing, Inc. n.d. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  4. ↑ McDevitt, John (May 28, 2012). "Names of fallen soldiers set in stone at Korean War Memorial". philadelphia.cbslocal.com. CBS Philly. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Open Street Map of Society Hill". openstreetmap.org. OpenStreetMap contributors. n.d. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ "J.J. White constructs a long-overdue tribute to Korean War veterans". jjwhiteinc.com. J.J. White, Inc. 2002. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016. See photo for design architect's name
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