Overview
- The memorial was unveiled on Oct. 24, 2026, and the Department of the Interior and National Park Service formally welcomed the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial to the National Mall.
- It honors roughly 700,000 U.S. service members and coalition partners who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and remembers the nearly 400 U.S. personnel who died.
- The project was led by Marine veteran Scott Stump after a 16-year veteran-driven campaign that secured congressional authorization in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act and gained final site approval from the Commission of Fine Arts.
- The design by Olin and sculptor Emily Bedard uses curved bas-relief walls and a central bronze coalition shield to evoke the campaign’s ‘left hook’ maneuver, with sculptures produced by clay modeling, digital scanning and robotic carving in Carrara, Italy followed by hand finishing.
- The memorial is open to visitors 24/7, was built with private funds rather than taxpayer dollars, and has drawn praise for its commemorative aims alongside criticism from some military commentators who say the design understates key aspects of Desert Storm such as the role of airpower.