Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside National Cemetary

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action which can be bestowed upon a member of the Armed Services of the United States. The recipient of the Medal of Honor has distinguished himself or herself conspicuously by gallantry and self-sacrifice at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty. The Medal of Honor Memorial that honors these recipients at the Riverside National Cemetery is a fitting monument to our nation's heroes.

Dedicated on November 5, 1999 by Defense Secretary William Cohen, the memorial honors all 3,410 Medal of Honor recipients. Congress sanctioned this site, along with a memorial in Indianapolis and a museum in Mount Pleasant, S.C., in October 1999 in the National Medal of Honor Memorial Act.

Present at the dedication ceremony were 85 of the 150 living Medal of Honor recipients and ten widows of Medal of Honor recipients.

"I would like to invite this amazing array of Medal of Honor recipients here today to stand ... so that a grateful nation can honor their service and sacrifice", Cohen said. "I would also like their family members and the relatives of all the recipients, past and present, to also stand so that we may pay tribute to you."

"America is eternally indebted to the families of our servicemen who stood -- and continue to stand -- behind each of these heroes," Cohen said. "It is never too late for us, individually and collectively, to say, 'We recognize your loss. We respect your sacrifice. We thank you.'

The open-air memorial consists of a plaza surrounded by the flags of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, representing the homes of the Medal of Honor recipients. Italian Cypress trees, planted in "squads" of nine, encircle the plaza.

The focal point of the memorial is a water sculpture, a wall of water created by a series of jets. The memorial's designers intended this centerpiece to be "a cool, quiet place for reflection."

"Among these walls, we hear more than the rousing echoes of the victorious, more than the tragic cries of the fallen. We hear the clear and distant trumpets of battles still to come, the summons to gather our courage and our resolve. And they bid us to preserve freedom in our time in order to honor those who made us free," Cohen said, concluding his remarks.