Little known facts about our nation’s monuments and memorials!

With Youth Tour just days away, here are a few facts about some of our stops.

When it was completed in 1884, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world. It was soon passed by the Eiffel Tower, and numerous other buildings have eclipsed it since then. At 555 feet, the obelisk remains the tallest object in DC.

The World War II Memorial is one of DC’s newer ones, having opened in 2004. It contains a large fountain, columns with the names of each state and territory, and 4,048 gold stars, each one representing 100 American military deaths during the war.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial is one of the most unique, because it actually depicts 19 soldiers, seven feet tall and made of stainless steel. Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are represented in their regular gear, while surrounded by bushes meant to recreate the terrain of Korea.

Though today most people view the Vietnam Memorial as one of the most powerful monuments because of its simplicity – a solid black wall with names of those killed in action inscribed in white – many people hated the design when it was first released, with some calling the design “a scar” and “a garish wall of shame.”

A Lincoln Monument Association was created by Congress just two years after Abe was assassinated, but construction of the Lincoln Memorial did not begin until 1914. The 36 columns represent each of the states in the Union at the time of the Lincoln’s death.

The remains of unknown soldiers from various conflicts are found at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. The unknown Vietnam soldier is no longer unknown. In 1998, DNA testing confirmed the remains as those of Air Force member Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down in 1972. He was transferred to his family in St. Louis, and the unknown Vietnam tomb was left empty and re-inscribed in honor of all of America’s missing servicemen and women.

The original statue of Thomas Jefferson in the Jefferson Memorial was made of plaster. Poor guy! That’s because metal was rationed during World War II. After the war, it was replaced with the 19-foot-tall bronze statue that stands today.

The Martin Luther King Memorial, dedicated in 2011, is just the fourth memorial in the National Mall area dedicated to a non-president. In addition to the 30-foot-high granite likeness of Dr. King, the site includes a 450-foot granite wall inscribed with 14 of his famous quotes.

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial contains 21 of the president’s most famous quotes, including “I have seen war… I hate war,” “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and “No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources.”

Along with two statues of Roosevelt himself, the FDR Memorial includes a bronze statue of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and even one with his dog, Fala. Lucky pooch – how many other dogs can boast that they were given an official U.S. government statue?