The World War II Memorial occupies the centre of the Mall between the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, a position that made it controversial when proposed — critics argued it would bisect the Mall and interrupt the open views that make the space function. The memorial opened in 2004 after 17 years of planning and construction, dedicated to the 16 million Americans who served and the 405,399 who died.
The design is neoclassical: a oval plaza surrounded by 56 granite pillars (one for each state and territory at the time of the war), two triumphal arches for the Atlantic and Pacific theatres, and a central fountain. The bronze bas-relief panels around the pavilions depict scenes from the war. Less powerful than the Vietnam memorial, perhaps, but appropriately monumental in its scope.