Medal of Honor Monument Coming to National Mall in D.C.

America's highest military honor is getting a permanent home on the National Mall, right where it belongs.

President Trump signed the Hershel "Woody" Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act on Thursday at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas. The legislation clears the way for a monument honoring Medal of Honor recipients to stand near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The act is named for Marine Hershel "Woody" Williams, who earned the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Williams spent hours under fire destroying enemy machine gun nests one after another, carving a path for American troops to advance. He was the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient when he died in 2022.

Sixteen of the nation's 65 living Medal of Honor recipients attended the signing ceremony. Trump greeted each recipient personally before taking the stage, calling their level of bravery "incredible."

"They carried the wounded out of battle on their own backs," Trump said. "They gave their bodies as shields for their brothers at arms."

The monument itself was already authorized by Congress in 2021. This new legislation allows it to be placed in the Reserve, a protected area of the National Mall reserved for the nation's most significant memorials.

The National Park Service will select the exact location. After that, the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation will launch a design competition and raise private funds for construction with no taxpayer money required.

Why This Inspires

What makes this story remarkable is the unity it created. The effort received eight votes in Congress over six years, every single one unanimous. In an era of deep political division, lawmakers from both parties came together without a single opposing vote.

Charlotte Jones, chairman of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, said that bipartisan support reflects the power of what the medal represents. "This is not a war museum," Jones explained. "This is a museum about heart, about courage, about sacrifice and patriotism."

The monument will stand as a permanent reminder of the 3,500 Americans who have received the Medal of Honor since it was created during the Civil War. Their stories of selflessness and bravery will now have a home alongside monuments to Lincoln, Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr.

When heroes are honored, we all remember what's possible when ordinary people do extraordinary things.