The eternal patrol of the Korean War Veterans Memorial evokes an eerie feel.

The first time I visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was on a misty, chilly night when I was helping to chaperone about 100 of my son’s energetic and occasionally over-dramatic high school classmates. I didn’t really know much about the memorial, so when we approached out of the fog and I saw the 19 larger-than-life statues emerge as if they were trekking through a rice paddy, it was an eerie and evocative moment.

The Korean War memorial is still one of my favorite stops when I’m in Washington, and seeing it in daylight does nothing to reduce that eerie feel as I once again see those steely soldiers on their eternal patrol.

A few days before the election I went to Washington, D.C. with a couple hundred thousand of my closest friends and acquaintances to hear a couple comedians try to make sense of the campaign season and the fractured partisanship that has dominated our national political discussions for the better part of a decade.

We had a great time … at least, those of us who could see the stage, hear the comments and make our way through a crowd that made a sardine can look roomy. But that’s part of the fun, right? Jon Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally For Sanity and/or Fear” was held on the National Mall, bookended by some of the greatest tourist destinations in the country – the Smithsonian Institution museums. Afterwards I spent some time wandering around the area with a friend and his 7-year-old daughter, who wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial. Again. She likes to see it whenever she goes to Washington with her dad, and while we were there she wondered aloud why the statue couldn’t get up and move like in the movies.

Like her, there are things I marvel at every time I visit our capital. Washington is one of those “must-visit” destinations on anyone’s travel itinerary because every corner and every block of the Capitol district seems to have a site that alone would make the trip worthwhile. From the White House to the Capitol to the Washington and Lincoln memorials, not to mention the Smithsonian Institution museums, you could easily spend days checking out the various historic, cultural and political landmarks.

But the war memorial section of the National Mall is always one of my favorites. As we celebrate another Veterans Day, it’s a good time to remember our debt to those who, as Lincoln so famously said, “gave that last full measure of devotion.”

The National Mall, which encompasses the open space between the Capitol and the White House and the Washington and Lincoln memorials, has been described as the nation’s front yard. It was designed by city planner Pierre L’Enfant as a space for the monuments of a nation, but none are so haunting, so evocative as the memorials that pay homage to the more than 512,000 Americans who died in three of the four major wars of the 20th Century.

The 19 soldiers of the Korean War memorial stand just over 7-feet high, and the peninsula-shaped site is bounded by a 164-foot long black granite wall adorned with etchings of photographs of those who served and a Remembrance Pond, along with a short wall that bears the simple phrase “Freedom Is Not Free.”

The Star-Spangled Banner is reflected in the black granite walls of the Vietnam Memorial.

The Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to those who died in our last major war of the 20th Century. Dedicated on Nov. 13, 1983, the once-controversial design features two, 246-foot black granite walls that dips below ground level at the center to give the feeling of sinking into the earth. It is etched with the names of those killed or missing in the war. Designer Maya Lin said her goal was to evoke a feeling of “a scar on the earth” while offering the hope of renewal signified as the visitor returns to ground level and the fresh grass of the mall. To appease traditionalists, an adjoining sculpture called “The Three Soldiers” was added several years later, and a “Women’s Memorial” has also been added to the site to commemorate the women who served in Vietnam.

The World War II Memorial, dedicated May 29, 2004, is the most expansive, as if to signify the enormous scope of the international conflict that claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans and millions upon millions from the other nations embroiled in that war. Two tall granite arches at either end signify the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and the 56 pillars represent each of the American states and territories that lost men and women to the war. The Freedom Wall is adorned with 4,048 stars, each representing 100 American lives lost to the Nazi Germany and Japanese totalitarian regimes that caused the war.

The size and scope of the World War II Memorial reflects the unimaginable scale of this international conflict.

The World War I memorial, a simple rotunda off to the side, is closed for long overdue maintenance and upgrades. It’s ironic to note that the monument is dedicated to “The World War.” There was a time when another world war was unthinkable. Hopefully, there will come a time when any war is unthinkable.

Meanwhile, when you visit Washington, take some extra time to pay homage to those who gave their lives for our freedom, and remember those simple words that mark the passage of the Korean memorial’s eternal patrol – “Freedom Is Not Free.”

If You Go: The National Mall and its monuments are open from sunrise to sunset and the distances are easily walkable, even for young children. Plan on taking some time at each stop but recognize that you will probably not see everything on your first visit. There is just too much to take in at one time.

What To Know: The “Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear” and comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert designated the National Mall Trust as beneficiary of any funds raised during the day, and so far the Trust has received more than $188,000.

Facts: I was curious about whether those who attended the rally would stay to visit the memorials and a federal park ranger said there was a clear increase in visitors that day. Speaking to him after 5 p.m. at the World War II memorial, he noted that the crowd at that time was at least a third larger than usual for a Saturday. Good to know.