Baldacchino - World War II Memorial

The World War II Memorial in Washington, DC honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home.

During World War II, U.S. military forces fought in two military theaters of operations on opposite sides of the world. Navy ships zigzagged their way across the Atlantic to transport Army and Marine personnel to fight in Northern Africa and Europe against the Germans and the Italians. Likewise, Army, Navy, and Marine units fought a brutal island-hopping campaign across the Pacific against the Japanese.

The memorial has two forty-three foot tall victory pavilions (Atlantic and Pacific) honor their heroic service and ultimate success and list at their bases many of the major campaigns and battles from each theater of war. This view is from the floor of the Pacific pavilion looking up at the Baldacchino (Italian for canopy) which has 4 eagles holding a laurel victory wreath suspended above an enlarged victory medallion set into the floor below. The eagle is the symbol of the United States of America. The laurel wreath is a symbol of victory going back to ancient Greece. So, the sculptures symbolize American victory in the Atlantic and in the Pacific theaters. The eagles have wingspans of 11 feet and are perched on columns 18 feet tall. Each of the laurel wreaths weighs 5,000 pounds. Click here for a better view.