History
On June 25, 1950, the North Korean offensive started from four locations across the 38th parallel into South Korea. In 41 days, the South Korean and American forces would be driven back into the Pusan perimeter. In August, reinforcements from the Eighth Army and Marine Corps arrived.
By the end of September, the Eighth Army broke out of the Pusan perimeter while Infantry and Marine Corps landed at Inchon and liberated Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Three months later Marines, forward details from the Army and other British, French, Turkish, South Korean and other United Nations forces would stand at the Yalu River, the border between Korea and China, thinking the war was nearly over. Soon after reaching the border, a force of 300,000 Chinese troops who had moved into North Korea during the United Nations advance and concealed themselves, attacked the United Nations forces from the rear. The United Nations forces would soon be fighting their way back to the coast to be taken off by the Navy or to secure positions in the south. The next 2 and a half years of the conflict would become trench warfare or battles for hilltops fought back and forth across the 38th parallel.
By the end of September, the Eighth Army broke out of the Pusan perimeter while Infantry and Marine Corps landed at Inchon and liberated Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
Three months later Marines, forward details from the Army and other British, French, Turkish, South Korean and other United Nations forces would stand at the Yalu River, the border between Korea and China, thinking the war was nearly over. Soon after reaching the border, a force of 300,000 Chinese troops who had moved into North Korea during the United Nations advance and concealed themselves, attacked the United Nations forces from the rear. The United Nations forces would soon be fighting their way back to the coast to be taken off by the Navy or to secure positions in the south. The next 2 and a half years of the conflict would become trench warfare or battles for hilltops fought back and forth across the 38th parallel.
The memorial
The memorial commemorates the sacrifices of the 5.8 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed services during the three-year period of the Korean War. The war was one of the most hard fought in our history.
Statues
They are approximately 7-feet tall and represent an ethnic cross section of America. The statues stand in patches of juniper bushes and are sparated by polished granite strips, which give a semblance of order and symbolize the rice paddies of Korea