Hey, Wait, Isn't That, You Know, What's His Name

As Washington, DC is our nation's capital, we have our fair share of monuments and memorials. Many of them are dedicated to former Presidents (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson), others are devoted to significant events (World War II, Vietnam). At the end of July, an intrepid Washington Post reporter set out to find ten memorials around the city that deserved to be recognized. Here's the list and a link to the article with pictures. I have also linked the memorials to sites where they are explained in greater detail.

• Women's Titanic Memorial - not a memorial to the women, but to the men who gave their lives so the women could be saved. You might recognize the pose of the statue found in Hains Point, near the water, duh. It was later used in a film that I explained as "ship sinks, boy dies."
  
• Samuel Hahnemann Memorial - It seems that the good doctor has a bad headache. The homeopathic physician has his hand on his head and is seated in this memorial near Scott Circle. The memorial was erected by the American Institute of Homeopathy, which currently has its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
• Jim Henson Statue and Memorial Garden - Jim Henson is a graduate of the University of Maryland and created everybody's favorite frog while there. Here the late puppeteer is memorialized with Kermit in front of the Student Union.
• Spirit of Haida Gwaii - This literal boat load of Canadian creatures sits in front of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC to commemorate the Haida people from the Queen Charlotte islands.
• Navy-Marine Memorial - This sits alongside the George Washington Memorial Parkway and is likely a blur in most commuters eyes as they speed past. The wave and seagulls memorializes sailors that have lost their lives in service. Note that "marine" in this case means Merchant Marine. If you want a memorial to those Marines, you need to go here.
• Mahatma Gandhi Memorial - This memorial sits in a city close to many memorials and statues devoted to war and generals. Erected near the grounds of the Indian Embassy, it is possibly my favorite on this list.
• Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial - The African-American educator was the first to honored with a statue on public parkland in Washington. The memorial was created by the same individual who did statues of John F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein.
• National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II - I will admit to passing this sculpture several times and not realizing what it was for. It was erected as a form of apology for the internment of hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Around the sculpture are the words, "Here we admit a wrong."
• Victims of Communism Memorial - This sculpture found its inspiration from two previous sculptures: the first was the "Goddess of Democracy" constructed by students during the Tiananmen protest, the second is a little larger and sits in the middle of New York Harbor.
• George Mason Memorial - I've been here. I had a friend who got married there. But don't go looking for it. It's hard to find. Poor George, is it any wonder he also carries the moniker, the "Forgotten Founder?"