The National Capital Planning Commission unanimously approved preliminary and final site development plans submitted by the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Second Indianhead Division Association Memorials Foundation, to modify the Second Division Memorial located at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, NW in President’s Park. The memorial honors service members who lost their lives fighting with the United States Army’s Second Division during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. New inscriptions would honor those fallen in Korea on the Demilitarized Zone (1965-1991), Iraq (2003-2010), and Afghanistan (2009-2013), and would not include names of individuals. Modifications include the addition of two stone plinths at the memorial’s southern end to accommodate panels for future inscriptions and to create a central space for visitors; a new curvilinear walkway to the memorial from Constitution Avenue (none exists today, and visitors must walk across the grass to reach it); accessibility upgrades; new interpretive elements; and upgraded lighting. Existing features include an eighteen-foot-high sculpture of a hand grasping a flaming sword that is framed by an architectural granite block. Commissioners thought that the modification was sensitively and beautifully designed, and a wonderful example of how to add to an existing memorial in a meaningful way. They appreciated the new walkways that would make the memorial more accessible. Sculptor James Earle Fraser and architect John Russell Pope designed the original memorial which was dedicated on July 18, 1936. On August 15, 1957, Congress authorized a two-wing wall addition to honor Second Division members lost in World War II and the Korean War, and on August 13, 2018 authorized the current modification. Construction will begin this spring and is anticipated to be completed fall 2021.

From the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)

https://www.ncpc.gov/news/item/133/