Washington and Lee War Memorial --- Cory Smith

       
               Situated across from Red Square, a memorial stands honoring the Washington and Lee students that have lost their lives fighting to defend America.  This gate-like memorial is passed through by students everyday going to and from class.  It was erected in 1920 with plaques dedicated to soliders who lost their lives in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Afghanistan, Persian Gulf, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Both sides of the memorial seem identical when looked at from a far away view, but the left side of the memorial has  a couple more plaques than the right side, so the memorial is not symmetrical.

These are examples of the plaques dedicated at the memorial.  They are bronze plaques that have inscripted the names of each member of Washington and Lee that died in battle.  Each plaque started with the same phrase "To the memory of the sons of Washington and Lee University who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country during...".  Weathering could make distinguishing the age of the plaques noticeable.  

These plaques are individualized to the select people that died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Persian Gulf War, and the war in Afghanistan, with the most recent addition added in 2009.

Finally, there is a plaque specifically for the Washington and Lee class of 1943 that was dedicated by members of their class in their honor.  They outnumber any class in terms of number of lives lost during war, with 19 lives lost during World War II.