21 Great Military-Related Monuments and Memorials Around the World

Military-Related Monuments and Memorials
Veterans Day is a solemn occasion that is more homage and remembrance and less celebration.

Held every November 11 to coincide with the end of World War I in 1918, the day officially replaced Armistice Day in 1954 and honors all those who served, living or deceased.

In particular, the day pays tribute to the men and women who served for the United States and sacrificed their lives in battle. In addition to the day itself, there are many amazing monuments and landmarks in the world that commemorate and honor these heroes, both military and civilian.

Here are 25 you should consider visiting.

Shoes on the Danube
A subtle, yet stark, monument in Budapest, Hungary. On the banks of the Danube River, there are cast iron replicas of shoes lined up along the riverbank. They represent the shoes that Hungarian Jews were forced to take off and leave behind before they were murdered and thrown into the river.

Air Force Memorial
In Arlington, Virginia, a stunning and eclectic series of soaring sculptures honors the United States Air Force as well as other aviation sectors of the U.S. military. The sculptures represent flight; the statues of two soldiers at the entrance to the memorial stand for patriotism and power.

The Motherland Calls
Are you familiar with the famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil? Now picture something even taller than that imposing figure. In Volgograd, Russia, the statue of The Motherland Calls stands almost 299 feet tall. It is a memorial to the World War II Battle of Stalingrad.

National Memorial Arch
A monument to the very first war by Americans. The National Memorial Arch is located in Valley Forge, Pa., and commemorates the arrival of General George Washington and his Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

The African-American Memorial
In Washington D.C., among the many monuments, you will find the African-American Memorial. It honors the more than 200,000 African-American soldiers who actually served during the Civil War from 1861-65. The memorial includes the bronze Spirit of Freedom statue and a wall with the names of all the men who fought in the Civil War.

The Menin Gate
This arch honors those who fought in a pivotal World War I battle in the famed ‘Fields of Flanders. Located in Ypres, Belgium, the arch was built near the town’s Menin Gate exit and is engraved with the names of more than 50,000 men – none of whom were ever found or identified.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
This is one of the more unique memorials in Washington D.C. It features 19 statues of soldiers wearing ponchos and making their way through a field. The outdoor monument honors and commemorates the 5.8 million men and women who served in Korea from 1950-53, including the 54,000 who died.

The Cenotaph
The longtime monument in London was originally constructed to honor the soldiers of World War I, but was changed in 1946 to also honor servicemen and women from World War II. Its starkness is what makes it unique – the Cenotraph is an empty tomb.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
“Here rests in honored glory, an American soldier known but to God.” That is the inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, D.C. The young man died in France during World War I. Since then, an unknown soldier from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War have also been interred at the tomb, although the soldier who fought in Vietnam was identified in 1998 and moved to a cemetery in Missouri at the request of his family. The Changing of the Guard at the monument is one of the most moving experiences.

Monument to the Women of World War II
Located in the Whitehall district of London, the Monument to the Women of World War II is relatively new. It was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 and the sculpture honors the dozens of different jobs women performed during World War II.

Gettysburg National Military Park
The battle at Gettysburg, in southern Pennsylvania on the Maryland border, was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the deadliest on American soil. It claimed 7,000 lives on both sides and more than 43,000 casualties. The four-day battle prompted President Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech.

Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial
A tower overlooking a reflecting pool is part of the memorial to commemorate the Netherlands’ soldiers who fought in World War II. The memorial is located in the town of Margraten, the same route that the Germans used to retreat when the Netherlands was liberated by U.S. forces.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Controversial when it was first designed, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is now one of the most revered monuments in Washington, D.C. The curving, black granite wall contains the names of more than 58,000 servicemen and women who died or were missing in action during the war.

Yad Vashem
Located in Jerusalem, Israel, this is the main Holocaust museum in the nation. It commemorates the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis during their reign in Germany from 1933 until they were defeated to end World War II in 1945. The names of the more than 20 largest concentration camps are carved into the stark “Hall of Remembrance.”

The National World War II Memorial
A sprawling complex in Washington, D.C, which is apt for the memorial that honors more than 16 million service members from the U.S. who fought during World War II – including more than 400,000 who died. One of the walls in the memorial including more than 4,000 gold stars honoring the lives lost.

Peace Memorial Park
There are more than 70 different monuments and memorials in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, where the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. Days later, a second bomb dropped on Nagasaki and World War II came to an end shortly thereafter. Ruins that remain in Hiroshima were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
Maybe the most famous military-related sculpture in the word. The Washington, D.C. The statue was based on a photograph of five Marines and one Navy sailor raising the American flag after the Battle of Iwo Jima in early 1945. The memorial was dedicated in 1954.

Arc de Triomphe
It doesn’t take a fourth-year French student to understand what the Arc de Triomphe translates to. The famous Arch in Paris, France on the famed Champs-Elysees is more than just a tourist attraction. The Arch honors soldiers lost in both World War I and World War II and contains its own Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Normandy American Cemetery
D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Allied invasion of Europe became the turning point of World War II and ended the conflict less than a year later. But it was deadly as many American troops barely made it out of their landing crafts on the shores of Normandy, France. The cemetery of thousands of white crosses and Stars of David is overwhelmingly emotional.

World War II Valor in the Pacific Monument
The monument in Honolulu, Hawaii is more commonly known as the USS Arizona Memorial. The Arizona, one of several ships that sank in Pearl Harbor following a sneak attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, is still visible in the shallow waters of the bay. In fact, the Arizona – which commemorates the lives lost on that day – still oozes oil to this day.

Auschwitz
Arguably the most solemn place in the world. Located just outside the small town of Oswiecim, Poland, this is not a replica of a German concentration and extermination camp. Auschwitz today is virtually the same as it was 80+ years ago, when 1.1 million Jews, gypsys, resistance members and political prisoners were tortured and killed. Originally built in 1940, by 1942 it consisted mostly of Jewish prisoners. It is extraordinarily moving and sad, but a necessary reminder of the evils of man.