Monument to Medal of Honor recipients on National Mall clears final hurdle with bill signing

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed a bill to locate a monument honoring Medal of Honor recipients at the National Mall, after the House and Senate unanimously endorsed the legislation.

The future National Medal of Honor Monument will be placed within the highly restricted Reserve within the National Mall, according to the Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act, which Trump signed on Sept. 10.

The national monument will cost an estimated $50 million, but no taxpayer dollars will be used to pay for the project, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation.

The nonprofit foundation will be responsible for raising private dollars to fund the monument’s design, development and placement at a permanent site.

“President Trump and members of Congress from both parties have united around a project that represents the spirit of selfless service our country so desperately needs,” said retired Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a Medal of Honor recipient and board member of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, based in Arlington, Texas.

Trump signed the bill during a special ceremony at the Texas museum, attended by several Medal of Honor recipients.

President Donald Trump stands next to retired Navy Capt. Royce Williams, a 100-year-old Medal of Honor recipient and Korean War veteran. Trump met Williams during a recent bill signing ceremony at the National Medal of Honor Museum, in Arlington, Texas. (National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation)

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded for bravery and valor in military action.

A total of 3,555 medals have been bestowed upon recipients since the award was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

There are currently 65 living Medal of Honor recipients, according to the society.

“Many of the Medal of Honor Recipients are in the twilight of their lives. The foundation plans to work thoughtfully with the relevant agencies so that as many recipients as possible can see this monument to their service and sacrifice completed,” a foundation spokesman said on Monday.

A dedicated website on the project is in the works to provide information about the fundraising campaign and plans for a design competition for the monument itself, the foundation spokesman said.

The last major permanent monument erected on the grounds of the Reserve was the National World War II Memorial, which was completed in 2004, after being authorized by Congress in 1993.

But two new war memorials are undergoing planning and development in the Reserve, in addition to the Medal of Honor monument just approved.

The National Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial, which received a permit to build within the Reserve, near the Lincoln Memorial, is currently under construction.

The groundbreaking was in 2022 for the memorial. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 24, according to the National Desert Storm Memorial Association.

The site is at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW in Washington, D.C.

The Global War on Terrorism Memorial is another authorized national commemorative work for placement in the Reserve.

The memorial will honor military members, civilians and families who served and sacrificed in global counterterrorism operations following the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Global War on Terrorism Memorial is projected to open in 2028, pending final design approvals and a targeted 2027 groundbreaking, according to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation.

Congress adopted legislation in 2003 that limits development in the core of the National Mall — the area bounded by the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House and the Jefferson Memorial, according to the Interior Department.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, dedicated in 2011, for example, was built adjacent to the tidal basin, specifically because it sits just outside the restricted Reserve boundary.

Congress in rare cases allows exceptions for new permanent works within the Reserve, as it has for the three war monuments now in various stages of planning and development.

“The service members who earned the Medal of Honor gave everything they had for this country. They didn’t ask for recognition. They just stepped up, answered the call, and put America and their fellow Americans ahead of themselves,” said Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., after Trump signed the legislation for locating the Medal of Honor monument on the National Mall.

“To have this moment tied to my dear friend Woody Williams makes it extra special, and I know he’s smiling down on us,” said Justice, who in 2022 named Williams an inaugural inductee in the newly established West Virginia Military Hall of Fame.

Hershel “Woody” Williams, 98, was a Marine Corps veteran and the last surviving World War II recipient of the Medal of Honor. He died in 2022.

Williams came under enemy fire during fighting in Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945. He used a 70-pound flame thrower and demolition charges to repel enemy forces and clear a path for allied troops, according to the Marine Corps.

President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor in October 1945.

President Harry S. Truman congratulates Hershel “Woody” Williams, a Marine Corps reservist, on receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima. (Melissa Karnath/Defense Department)

After the war, Williams worked for the VA for 33 years.

He continued military service in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring in 1960 as a chief warrant officer, after 20 years combined in the Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserves.

A projected completion date for the Medal of Honor monument has not been announced.