A new national memorial to honor America’s fallen warriors is taking shape in the heart of the Midwest.
“I’m not going to wait 10 years for a memorial to be built,” said retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel John Folsom, Executive Director of Dunham House (dunhamhouse.org). “It’s going to be built now, and it’s going to be built here at Dunham House.” Folsom laid out plans to construct a permanent national memorial honoring the more than 6,500 U.S. service members who were killed in action or died of wounds in named operations between October 2001 and August 26, 2021, including Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and other missions connected to the post-9/11 wars. The memorial will be constructed using Sunset Granite quarried in South Dakota, with each name individually engraved into the stone.
“It’s fitting that the names are etched into granite,” Folsom said. “Granite is formed under intense heat and pressure, which makes it strong and resilient. It is emblematic of our nature as a people, and especially those who swear to defend our country against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
When completed, the memorial—with estimated cost of $2.5 million and fundraising already underway—will sit at the front entrance of Dunham House, the nation’s first long-term residential facility built specifically for combat-wounded veterans who have suffered catastrophic wounds, such as multiple amputations and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).
To learn more, donate to the memorial, or support the mission of Dunham House, visit dunhamhouse.org.