There are many monuments and tributes to the servicemembers who have lost their lives in combat, but conspicuously absent from public view are ones honoring those who have had their lives forever altered by mental and physical wounds. That will change next fall, however, when the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial opens to the public Oct. 12, Military.com reports.
The memorial will be located in Washington, D.C., near the U.S. Botanic Garden, and comes after years of planning and fundraising. At a cost of 81.5 million, the memorial will features a star-shaped fountain meant to represent each branch of the Armed Forces. When its complete, the fountain should reflect the image of the Capitol Building. The location was not chosen lightly.
"We looked at 22 sites that were given to us by the National Park Service. We selected [the C Street] location because of its proximity to the U.S. Capitol," Rick Fenstermacher, chief executive officer for the project, told the news source. "We wanted Congress to be able to look at the memorial and see that the cost of war is more than [the price] of bullets and bombs."
When the monument opens next year, it will bring to a close four years of planning. In 2010, Nancy Pelosi, along with "Forest Gump" actor Gary Sinese announced the plans for the monument.