Since the USAA National Military Monument opened, people have waited in lines as long as three hours so they can see loved ones’ names — drawn from the more than 41 million veterans represented — appear on the digital screens along the monument.
Taking a little over seven days to cycle through all those honored, the monument’s digital stripes display a set of approximately 6,000 names for about 45 seconds before transitioning to the next set. The 18‑foot‑tall, more‑than‑50‑foot‑wide flags were designed so that every name would appear within that week‑long cycle, according to USAA Communications Director Christian Bove.
At that pace, each individual name has appeared only a handful of times since it was unveiled.
“We’ve seen long lines here in D.C. at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for people wanting to see their loved ones’ names… we kept hearing over and over, ‘I wish it would be here longer, I wish it would be here longer,’” Bove told Reserve + National Guard Magazine.
The monument was originally slated to remain through Aug. 23, but USAA announced that due to an outpouring of public response and support from the National Park Service, the monument will remain at the National Mall through Veterans Day.
The extension comes in time for the 25th anniversary of 9/11, offering D.C.’s first-ever single source honoring the generation of heroes who chose to serve after 2001.
“Knowing that is a place where those service members are honored, those veterans are honored, and knowing that it would be up through Sept. 11, that was really important,” Bove said.
Visitors can reliably see specific names on demand thanks to the USAA ambassadors and military affairs representatives onsite to assist pulling up names on a screen that can list up to three names at a time. Bove said this way, visitors can take a photo in front of the monument with their loved ones’ or their own name displayed on the screen.
“We knew people were going to want to come to the monument, want to find specific names, want to find their name, and that was important when we built this — to have a way to honor those and to be able to call them up on demand,” Bove said.
With the extended date, the monument will be the endpoint for One Flag Forward, where, beginning Sept. 12, one American flag will travel 250 miles from New York City to the National Military Monument in Washington, D.C., carried hand-to-hand by members of wear blue: run to remember and Team Red, White and Blue.
Since the unveiling, Bove said more than 200,000 names have been added. Each addition is subject to a vetting process to ensure service authenticity, which he said takes about a week before the name is added to the monument. Names are added and can be viewed through the website.
“We realized not everyone’s going to be able to make it out here and see, that’s why we made it possible we were able to pull up an image of your loved one’s name online,” Bove said.
Bove was onsite in Washington, D.C., when the monument arrived on 18-wheelers from Lititz, Pennsylvania, where it was constructed, to be placed at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.
“Even seeing pictures doesn’t do it justice,” Bove said. “It’s a pretty impressive sight.”
In honor of the extension, he visited the monument for the first time since it was unveiled, and he pulled up his own family members’ names on the monument, including his wife Meagan’s Navy veteran grandfather, Floyd T. Holdridge. Holdridge passed away in 2018.
“You can just imagine how much it meant when I was able to come here in person to the monument, take that picture, and send that to them, just knowing that it was shown right here,” Bove told Reserve + National Guard Magazine. “They loved that.”
The National Military Monument is to the public and admission is free. To learn more about One Flag Forward or how to get involved, visit the website.