Air Force veteran and LEGO exhibitor Sherry Harris’s “Tribute to Armed Forces” displayed at BrickFair, Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

CHANTILLY, Va. — From battlefields to skies and seas, LEGO builders created tributes to the military with the miniature, plastic blocks.

LEGO lovers traveled from across the country and around the world to attend BrickFair — a LEGO convention and exhibition — at the Dulles Expo Center on Saturday and Sunday.

They had a chance to view a variety of colorful LEGO exhibits, play games, meet builders, collect custom pieces and learn new building techniques. About 1,300 exhibitors displayed their creations.

Among various towering and intricate LEGO structures — ranging from architectural landmarks and fantasy worlds to botanical themes — were military-themed displays, built by those honoring military service.

LEGO sailors aboard a model of the HMS Dreadnought, a historic warship, exhibited by Quinn Roberts at BrickFair in Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. (Isabella Carrero-Baptista/Stars and Stripes)

“You lose the feeling in your fingertips after a while, but it’s worth it … the reaction is usually appreciation and ‘thank you for recognizing us.’ I thank every one of them (service members and veterans) for their service,” said Sherry Harris, an Air Force veteran and four-time exhibitor at BrickFair.

Harris of Jasper, Ga., displayed logos of the six military branches this year. Harris’s mosaic exhibition, “Tribute to the Armed Forces,” took 300 hours over three years to complete. Over 100,000 LEGO dots were pieced together between the six mosaics, which needed 30 feet of wall space at the convention to be displayed side-by-side.

Air Force veteran and LEGO exhibitor Sherry Harris stands by her LEGO exhibition, “Tribute to Armed Forces” at BrickFair in Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force veteran and LEGO exhibitor Sherry Harris’s LEGO figure in Marine Corps dress blues displayed at BrickFair, Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. Harris built this figure inspired by her son, who is a Marine. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force veteran and LEGO exhibitor Sherry Harris holds a LEGO piece that resembles the United States Air Force logo shaped in a heart at BrickFair, Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

Harris mounted the mosaics on large wooden easels and removed the security bars around the exhibit so families could take photographs. Standing to the side wearing Air Force heart LEGO earrings, she answered questions and took photographs for service members, veterans and their families.

“I spoke with veterans of every branch, Vietnam veterans, and a man whose brother died in Iraq,” Harris said. “There were young people who told me their future plans included military service. People shared their stories and touched my heart.”

The LEGO mosaics of the U.S. Army, Marines and Navy logos as part of “Tribute to Armed Forces,” an exhibit by Air Force veteran Sherry Harris at BrickFair in Chantilly, Va., Aug. 1, 2025. (Isabella Carrero-Baptista/Stars andStripes)

During BrickFair 2023, Harris displayed her initial 28,160-piece LEGO mosaic of the Marine Corps’ eagle, globe and anchor, as well as a modified 10-inch-tall LEGO figure of a Marine in dress blues. What began as a tribute to her son, Marine Staff Sgt. Hunter Upson, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., turned into an endeavor that honors all those who serve.

Another exhibitor built his display from his military experiences. Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Burrows built a demonstration of the USS Sacramento (AOE-1) conducting a fuel and cargo transfer to the USS Waddell (DDG-24), which were ships on which he served on during his 27-year career.

Burrows built the display so “people understand what goes on while we’re out doing our job.”

Navy veteran Williams Burrows stands with his LEGO display of an at-sea fuel and cargo replenishment during BrickFair in Chantilly, Va., Aug. 3, 2025. (Isabella Carrero-Baptista/Stars and Stripes)

The Waddell was Burrows’s first, and he served as a machinist’s mate for 2½ years. Burrows served on the Sacramento as a lieutenant in the early 2000s.

“This is what I did day in and day out for three tours,” Burrows said. “I haven’t seen anybody portray this event in LEGOs.” He added that for people who recognized the underway replenishment, his model brought back “a whole lot of flashbacks.”

Burrows spent six years building the ships, which were originally for the Hampton Roads Navy Museum’s shipbuilding display. Since he found few photographs of the Sacramento, most of the model was built from memory.

The Navy veteran plans on continuing to showcase his replenishment event in future exhibits but will update it with different Navy ships. Harris is working on building five more large LEGO figures in uniform for each service to display next year.

To the contributors, the event is about more than the Legos.

“As much as I enjoy the experience of creating, it’s the people and the stories that make it all worthwhile,” Harris said.