Tag Archives: memorial

California

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial

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Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial

California

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1992

5 acres

Website: nps.gov/poch

Overview

On July 17, 1944 at 10:18 p.m., a massive explosion at a U.S. Navy facility rocked the San Francisco Bay area.  The blast started at a pier where munitions were being loaded onto two ships and killed 320 men.  The majority of the dead were African American sailors who were segregated at the time and not allowed to serve in combat roles or as officers.  After refusing to return to unsafe working conditions, 206 sailors were convicted after a summary courts-martial, and the “Port Chicago 50” were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for mutiny.  After receiving negative publicity, the Navy actually became the first of the military branches to integrate during World War II, well before President Truman required it in 1948.  On January 6, 1946, the Navy released 47 of the 50 men being held and in 2024, the Navy posthumously exonerated all 256 men and vacated any remaining dishonorable discharges. 

Highlights

Memorial, film, revetment

Must-Do Activity

The memorial is located on an active military base called Military Ocean Terminal Concord on Suisun Bay.  Therefore, all visitors are required to be U.S. Citizens and must make a reservation at least two weeks before their visit by calling or emailing the National Park Service (NPS) to receive a background check.  Tours are given only on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays and meet at John Muir National Historic Site (where you can watch a short film) in Martinez where the group boards government vehicles to drive to the site.  After a thorough search of the vehicle and each visitor getting checked off a list, it is a short drive to the memorial where the NPS ranger explains the history of the site at two locations with time to walk around and take photos (but only of the memorial area).

Best Trail

None

Photographic Opportunity

Shrapnel from the 1944 blast is located at the first stop on the guided tour where historic train cars are parked in a revetment. 

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

Tours are available only on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays when the base is not closed to civilians.

https://www.nps.gov/poch/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved to John Muir National Historic Site where there is a free parking lot.

Camping

There are campgrounds at Mount Diablo State Park and backcountry campsites (permit required) at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Related Sites

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (California)

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)

Nearest National Park

Pinnacles

Revetment
Egret flying
Blast radius

Explore More – What future Supreme Court Justice observed the courts-martial and has a regional park named in his honor near Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial?

District of Columbia

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial

District of Columbia

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1982

2 acres

Website: nps.gov/vive

Overview

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund was incorporated as a nonprofit charity in 1979 to build a monument listing all the names of those killed or missing during the Vietnam War.  It was originally the idea of Jan Scruggs, an infantry corporal, and it was important to the veterans that it not make a political statement about the controversial war in Southeast Asia.  Selected from 1,421 design entries, Maya Ying Lin intended her memorial to be a quiet, protected place for reflection.  The polished black marble she chose to inscribe the half-inch-tall names also reflects the surrounding trees and grass in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall.  The $7-million cost of the memorial was entirely funded by corporate and private donations, including those from 275,000 individual Americans.

Highlights

Memorial wall, Three Soldiers sculpture, Vietnam Women’s Memorial, In Memory plaque

Must-Do Activity

Located near the Lincoln Memorial, the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial stretch 246.75 feet in length, inscribed with 58,256 names listed chronologically by date of casualty.  People come to make rubbings of their loved one’s name and often leave small items at its base.  Added nearby in 1984, a life-size bronze sculpture by Frederick Hart depicts three male soldiers beneath a 60-foot flagpole.  The In Memory plaque was added in 2004 to recognize the many men and women who served and later died from causes related to the war.

Best Trail

There is no trail here, but there is always plenty of walking done when visiting the many memorials on the National Mall.

Photographic Opportunity

Dedicated on November 11, 1993, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial is a bronze sculpture by Glenna Goodacre that depicts three women helping a fallen soldier.  There were also eight yellowwood trees planted to commemorate the eight servicewomen killed in action in Vietnam. 

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

Open 24 hours

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Traffic can be slow and parking expensive in Washington, D.C., so consider taking the Metro to the National Mall. 

Camping

There are National Park Service campgrounds in Maryland’s Greenbelt Park and Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park.

Related Sites

Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

World War II Memorial (District of Columbia)

World War I Memorial (District of Columbia)

Nearest National Park

Shenandoah

Explore More – When her design was selected in 1981, Maya Ying Lin was a 21-year-old student from Athens, Ohio; where was she attending college at the time?

District of Columbia

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial

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Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial

District of Columbia

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2020

4 acres

Website: nps.gov/ddem

Overview

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th U.S. President (1953 to 1961).  His presidential library is located in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas and his post-presidency home on a Pennsylvania farm is run by the National Park Service adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park.  The U.S. Congress created a Memorial Commission in 1999, but the groundbreaking did not occur until 18 years later.  The dedication ceremony was scheduled for the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, but postponed to September 17 because of the pandemic. 

Highlights

Sculptures, steel tapestry, audio tour, gift shop

Must-Do Activity

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is located one block off the National Mall in a plaza on Independence Avenue SW across from the National Air and Space Museum.  It was designed by architect Frank Gehry and went through several iterations before settling on three bronze sculptures by Sergey Eylanbekov representing “Ike” as a boy, general, and president.  The site is always open with a downloadable audio tour and a small gift shop open daily where you can pick up a “unigrid” pamphlet.

Best Trail

There is no trail here, but you can spend all day walking in D.C. through the National Mall and the nearby National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and United States Botanic Garden.

Photographic Opportunity

The artist Tomas Osinski created a stainless-steel tapestry (447 feet long by 60 feet tall) out of 600 panels depicting a line drawing of the Pointe du Hoc promontory on France’s Normandy coastline, a site significant to the D-Day landings during World War II.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/ddem/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

The memorial is located on Independence Ave SW across from the National Air and Space Museum, which has parking garages nearby, or you can take the Metro into the city.

Camping

Greenbelt Park Campground in Maryland is the closest run by the National Park Service, which also manages campgrounds at Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park and Shenandoah National Park, as well as several in Maryland’s Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.  Smallwood State Park and Cherry Hill Park in Maryland both offer RV sites and tent sites.

Related Sites

World War II Memorial (District of Columbia)

Eisenhower National Historic Site (Pennsylvania)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (District of Columbia)

Nearest National Park

Shenandoah

Kids being kids

Explore More – What landscape was originally going to be depicted on the steel tapestry?

Virginia

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

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George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Virginia

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1930

662 acres

Website: nps.gov/gewa

Overview

George Washington’s great-grandfather John first came to Virginia in 1657 and later settled this slave plantation on Popes Creek.  The future general and president was born on the property in 1732 in a house that burned down whose foundation is now outlined in the ground by crushed oyster shells.  The current Memorial House was constructed to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth, although the architect had no idea of the original house’s layout.  Those interested in the first U.S. President should combine this free tour with an expensive visit to his mansion at Mount Vernon located 68 miles north. 

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our newest travel guidebook Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments.  It is now available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Memorial Obelisk, film, Memorial House, Family Burial Ground, Nature Trail, Dancing Marsh Loop Trail

Must-Do Activity

After passing the Memorial Obelisk on the drive in, your first stop should be the visitor center to watch the 15-minute film, see artifacts from the burned-down house, and find out about a tour.  The hour-long ranger-guided walking tour covers about a half-mile on a gravel pathway to the Memorial House with frequent interpretive stops.  In the summer, the house also has open hours for dropping in before and after the tour.  There may be living history demonstrations at the colonial herb and flower garden, farm workshop, and colonial revival kitchen.  It is worth a short drive to the tidewater beach on the Potomac River and a stop along the way at the Washington Family Burial Ground that has replicas of gravestones.

Best Trail

From the Memorial House, it is less than a mile to walk Dancing Marsh Loop Trail including open views on the footbridge across Popes Creek and the boardwalk through the marsh.  This trail connects with the one-mile Nature Trail loop for a longer walk, and that is also accessible from the picnic area parking lot.

Photographic Opportunity

Originally constructed in 1896 by the War Department on the site where Memorial House now stands, the 50-foot-tall Memorial Obelisk is made of Vermont granite at one-tenth scale of the Washington Monument 70 miles to the north in Washington, D.C.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/gewa/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but be aware there is a toll to cross the bridge into Virginia on Highway 301 southbound from Maryland. 

Camping

There is no camping at the National Monument, so the nearest campground is seven miles southeast at Westmoreland State Park, which offers RV sites with hookups.

Related Sites

Washington Monument (District of Columbia)

Valley Forge National Historical Park (Pennsylvania)

Colonial National Historical Park (Virginia)

Nearest National Park

Shenandoah

Outline of original birthplace home
Sassafras
Potomac River
Crowin’ about the park

Explore More – How many generations of George Washington’s forebears are buried on the property?

Learn more about this and the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Missouri

Gateway Arch National Park

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Gateway Arch National Park

Missouri

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1935 National Expansion Memorial, 2018 National Park

91 acres

Website: nps.gov/jeff

Overview

On February 22, 2018, the 60th National Park in the U.S. was created from what was formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri.  Gateway Arch National Park encompasses 91 acres on the Mississippi River, including the historic 1828 courthouse and the iconic 630-foot-tall arch that was finished in 1965.  We first visited on our cross-country road trip in 2007 and returned in 2016 while the underground museum was under construction and the greenway was extended over Interstate 44.  When we came back in 2022, the courthouse was closed for renovation, but the museum had reopened with exhibits explaining the importance of this city as a starting point for the settlement of the west after President Thomas Jefferson signed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the country in 1803.  It is by far the smallest of the 63 National Parks (5,457 acres less than Hot Springs), which begs the question: Why wasn’t this designated a National Historical Park instead?

Learn more about how to visit this National Park in the expanded second edition of our guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks. 

Highlights

Gateway Arch, tram, film, museum, Old Courthouse, Old Cathedral

Must-Do Activity

Unlike other National Parks, this one does not preserve a natural landmark, but it does have claustrophobia-inducing tram cars (fee) that take you four-minutes to the top of the Gateway Arch for excellent views across Illinois and Missouri.  It is worth the hassle to go through a security screening to see the new museum.  The 35-minute film Monument to the Dream is also available for a fee. 

Best Trail

There are sidewalks that follow the Mississippi River and loop around the arch.  Be sure to cross the street to the Old Courthouse where the first of two trials in the infamous Dred Scott case was held in 1854.  Continue west behind to the courthouse to the Kiener Memorial Fountain for a photo that frames the building beneath the Gateway Arch.

Photographic Opportunity

The 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch is the defining landmark of St. Louis, but the historic 1834 Old Cathedral still serves as an active Catholic Church inside the park boundaries.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

There is no fee to walk the grounds or pass through security for the museum and gift shop, but you do have to pay to view the film or ride the tram to the top of Gateway Arch.  When open, the Old Courthouse is also free to enter.

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but parking can be tricky.  We suggest paying for a parking garage or paying to park on the river levee near the paddlewheel boats, since car break-ins are common in downtown St. Louis.

Camping

This is the only National Park without the option to camp, so consider heading southwest to the wonderful Ozark National Scenic Riverways or Mark Twain National Forest.  In southeast Missouri, Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park is rated as one of the best RV campgrounds in the country.

Related Sites

Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (Missouri)

Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park (Missouri)

Harry S Truman National Historic Site (Missouri)

Entering the museum after security screening
Dear NPS, that’s actually a Douglas-fir cone
Tiff riding the tram
View from the top during 2016 construction
You can watch a Cardinals game from up here
If you’re claustrophobic, save some money and get the view while still inside the museum
Inside the Old Courthouse
Kiener Memorial Fountain
Mississippi River

Explore More – In 1947, how many city blocks were razed to make way for the memorial, including several historic buildings dating back to 1818?

We designed this Gateway Arch logo for the park available on Amazon.com

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