War memorials on the National Mall commemorate those who fought in one conflict at a time. A new temporary memorial that’s gone up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial covers all of them.
The National Military Monument, an installation from the financial services company USAA for military members and spouses, is dedicated to all of the more than 41 million Americans who’ve fought in every war from the Revolutionary War to the conflicts of the 21st century. USAA installed the work to mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and it was designed to mix the look of traditional monuments with cutting-edge tech.
The memorial is made up of two double-sided structures designed to look like fluttering U.S. flags. Each is positioned on either side of the steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial. Each section is 18 feet tall and 62 feet wide, and the blocks used to make it were painted to resemble Indiana limestone, the stone used to build the Lincoln Memorial walls and columns.
Embedded in the structure are 528 LED screens that act like the stripes on the flag, and they display the names of U.S. service members, with each name separated by stars. It was designed by Atomic Designs, an event production company that’s designed staging for events like Jingle Ball and World’s Strongest Man.
With no single historical record of every American who’s served in the armed forces, USAA compiled its own list of veterans from sources including the National Parks Service, WWII Army Enlistment, POW lists, veteran service organizations, and USAA members who opted in.
There are currently nearly 41 million names being displayed. George Washington was the first name displayed for its public opening on July 28, and the Unknown Soldier will be the last. “John Smith” is the most common name in the installation, appearing 4,487 times.
It’s a living memorial. There’s an online portal and kiosks at the installation people can use to search for loved ones and submit the names of those who aren’t included. It can display as many as 2.54 million names a day for 45 seconds each, which means it would take about 16 days to go through every name.
A permanent memorial with as many names wouldn’t fit as neatly on the National Mall. By mixing the look of traditional monuments with video screens and public participation, though, the National Military Monument shows that it doesn’t take a permanent monument set in stone to make a big impact.