What's your overall impression of the WWII Memorial?

I voted "No feelings one way or another" which is possibly the worst thing that can be said about it. It is quite forgettable.

I kind of like it. It makes me think of stonehenge.

I love it, to tell the truth -- it's both stately and forceful, and occupies the weight you'd think a memorial to such a massive endeavor should.

It looks like the sort of bland stone background piece you expect to find in the middle of a corporate office park. Only bigger. And in it's grand blandness, it's not ABOUT WWII at all, it's about the way we, the subsequent generations would like to THINK WWII was: uncontroversial, the "good" war, eagles, fountains and patriotic stars. It really just doesn't measure up to the high standards set by the Vietnam, or even the Korean war monuments.

i love it, okay. what is wrong with pillars and a fountain, honestly? they are the basis for most decorative architecture in major cities such as DC and Paris. the stars on the one end represent the hundreds of thousands of people who died... that's cool. if you take the time to read the passages inscribed in and around the memorial, you will capture its true spirit. also, the way the reflecting pool runs into it is aesthetically pleasing. i'd be more worried about the chinese imperialistic design of the MLK monument, if i were you guys.

I recall reading an essay shortly after it opened that bemoaned it looking like a gravesite, and suggesting that it really is, it's the burial place of America's positive engagement with the world, and of American arms as a force for good in the world. I think that romanticizes WW2 a little too much, and I hope it's too pessimistic about the future of America, but it's quite poetic, as interpretations go, and the notion has stuck with me. I just wish I could remember where I read that essay.