The National Military Monument at the Lincoln Memorial, a digital tribute listing more than 41 million Americans who have served since the Revolutionary War, will stay on the National Mall well past its original closing date.
USAA, the company behind the installation, announced Aug. 18 that the monument will remain at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial through Nov. 12, extending its run by 10 weeks. The company said it made the decision with the support of the National Park Service and in response to the turnout the tribute has drawn since it opened.
Under the original plan, the monument was to come down Aug. 23, roughly four weeks after it opened July 28. Its extension now carries it through Patriot Day on Sept. 11, marking the 25th anniversary of the 2001 attacks, and Veterans Day.
What the Monument Is
The installation is built from two double-sided digital displays designed to look like American flags rippling in the wind. Each one is many times the size of a standard household flag.
Represented as the stars and stripes are the names of more than 41 million service members scrolling by era. George Washington is the first name shown, and the Unknown Soldier is the last, so that those who were never identified are still honored.
USAA assembled the list from military and public records dating back to the Revolutionary War, along with information from veterans service organizations and the company’s own members who chose to take part.
Because no single complete record of every American service member exists, some names will be missing. USAA has said the list will keep growing as families verify service and submit records.
Set on the Lincoln Memorial Plaza, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the installation occupies one of the most heavily visited stretches of the National Mall during the country’s 250th-anniversary year.
Why It’s Staying Up
USAA tied the extension directly to the response from the people who have come to see it. Since the monument opened, families have gathered around the search kiosks looking for relatives. Veterans have waited in lines to see their own names rise across the displays, according to reporting by Fox News.
They framed it as a chance to let more people share in those moments. Thousands have visited to find the names of those who served, the company said, describing scenes of remembrance and connection it wanted to share with a wider audience through the fall.
Admission remains free, and the monument is open to the public every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Visitors do not have to travel to Washington to take part. Its full database is searchable for free at: https://monument250.usaa360.com/search, where anyone can look up a service member and confirm whether they are included.
Once onsite, visitors can look up a name via a kiosk or by scanning a QR code to generate a lookup code. An onsite attendant then cues the system, allowing the visitor to watch the name appear across the digital flags.
With the extension, that search window now runs through Veterans Day. The monument will come down Nov. 12, closing out a tribute that, by its sponsor’s account, drew far more people than it was first built to hold.
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