World War II Memorial Gold Stars, Washington, DC Editorial Photo

Each gold star represents 100 Americans who died in the war. Just over 4,000 of these stars clearly reflect the loss of 405,399 Americans in this titanic struggle. The field of stars is underscored by a granite marker embedded with the words “Here We Mark the Price of Freedom.” If one stands before the field of gold stars, the Rainbow Pool fountains and the waterfalls cascading on either side of the stars tend to obscure all extraneous sound.