Monumental Enjoyment A guide to D.C.’s lesser-known memorials Two women enjoy their lunch on a bench overlooking a still pool of water broken by boulders. It is quiet here, though traffic and people clamor by on nearby Louisiana Avenue. This is not a park; it is the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II, a monument that honors the 30,000 Japanese Americans who served in the war and the estimated 120,000 Japanese American men, women and children interned in work camps in this country at that time. An endless stream of tourists moves through our nation’s capital throughout the year, lured to Washington, D.C., by the museums, the history and, certainly, the extensive array of memorials. While no one can miss the monolithic grandeur of the Washington Monument obelisk or the understated power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, there are monuments scattered throughout the city that require a keen eye and a little investigative prowess to find. Like the interesting tidbits of history, they, too, are worth seeking. The Japanese American Memorial is in the triangle created by the confluence of Louisiana and New Jersey Avenues and D Street NW. The names of the internment camps are carved into a curved wall that embraces the pool of water and a statue of two cranes entwined by barbed wire. The memorial’s intent is to recognize the loyalty of Japanese Americans and also to acknowledge the grave ill committed by the U.S. when it discriminated against its own citizens based on ethnicity. Years earlier there was no such prejudice when the District of Columbia War Memorial was erected in West Potomac Park off Independence Avenue. The memorial honors residents of D.C. who served in World War I. It was the first memorial on the Mall to list all the D.C. residents who lost their lives in the war regardless of their race, class, or gender. Completed in 1931, the gracious Doric temple is tucked in among the trees on the Mall’s western fringe. In spring, it is surrounded by daffodils. Many of the memorials scattered throughout Washington were gifted to this country, as is the case with the five statues along Virginia Avenue in the neighborhood of Foggy Bottom. Known simply as the Five Hispanic War Heroes, they include statues of Simon Bolivar, The Great Liberator of South America; Spanish colonial leader Bernardo de Gálvez; and the man called the Father of Modern Mexico, Benito Pablo Juárez. According to the National Park Service, which maintains all of the memorials in D.C., most visitors never realize that many of these monuments exist. On your next visit to Washington, D.C., wear comfortable walking shoes and use a little sleuthing to find the quiet nooks and less-traveled side streets where history resides. More Remembrances Track down these monuments on your next visit, too: • The 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall (nps.gov/coga) • African American Civil War Memorial at 10th and U Streets NW (afroamcivilwar.org) • The United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue at 7th Street NW (lonesailor.org) • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at Judiciary Square, E Street NW between 4th and 5th Streets (nleomf.com)