A new memorial honoring veterans with disabilities officially opened in D.C. yesterday, with President Barack Obama delivering the opening remarks.
It’s been more than 15 years in the making, but The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is finally open. According to a release, the Memorial “[pays] tribute to disabled veterans both living and deceased across all conflicts throughout the nation’s history.”
At yesterday’s opening ceremony, Obama delivered a rousing speech, urging all Americans to thank veterans—especially disabled ones—whenever they might see them. “So if you’re an American, and you see a veteran—maybe with a prosthetic arm or leg, maybe burns on their face—don’t ever look away. Do not turn away,” Obama said. “You go up and you reach out, and you shake their hand, and you look them in the eye and you say those words every veteran should hear all the time: ‘Welcome home, thank you. We need you more than ever. You help us stay strong, you help us stay free.’”
The Memorial, which was designed by the firm Michael Vergason Landscape Architects and is situated at 150 Washington Avenue SW, is made out of granite and glass, and “commemorates veterans both alive and dead who have been disabled while serving in the military.” It “envisions a hallowed place amid the bustle of the surrounding Washington streets.”
