National Mall

Updates Ahead for Korean War Memorial; Names of Fallen to Be Added

The memorial will remain open during the 18-month construction period

Service members' names will be added to a Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.

The National Park Service and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation are scheduled to begin construction this week, the park service said Monday.

A sloped, granite Wall of Remembrance will encircle the Pool of Remembrance. Two new pedestrian paths will be added to provide access to the memorial from Ash Road and Independence Avenue. 

 The names shown will be those of "36,574 American servicemen and more than 7,200 members of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army who gave their lives defending the people of South Korea," the park service said.

Construction on the new, permanent Wall of Remembrance will start this month. (Credit: Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation)

With the rehabilitation of the 25-year-old memorial, crews will repair pavement, refinish the stainless-steel statues, replace the juniper trees in the Field of Service and continue to make modifications. 

The memorial will remain open during the 18-month construction period, although some areas will be inaccessible.

About $22 million is being donated to fund this project, entirely by the people of the United States and the Republic of Korea.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act, signed in October 2016, allowed the modifications to the memorial. The alterations were approved under the Commemorative Works Act.

The project is expected to be complete in summer 2022. 

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