Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is telling her Republican colleagues in Congress to keep their hands off the D.C. World War I Memorial and not turn it into a national monument.

Tucked away in a sea of memorial is a small yet distinguished structure that recognizes the ultimate sacrifice of 455 District residents in World War I: the District of Columbia War Memorial.

The D.C. War Memorial is charmingly modest, a comparatively small silhouette on the National Mall that for years has been neglected while tucked away in its quiet grove on the north side of Independence Avenue. In 2009, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds were allocated to renovate the memorial. It’s been closed to visitors for the past year while repairs were being made. On November 10, the D.C. War Memorial will re-open.