American Unity National MemorialBlack Hills, South Dakota
The memorial campus at blue hour, its halls and walkways lit beneath the hills

05 · A Living Memorial

Bronze endures. Light renews.

Stories projected in light and renewed for generations, indoors and out.

The roll call

A memorial that is never finished.

Part bronze, part light: lasting and always new.

Bronze figures will stand as lasting tributes, while the halls and walkways, inside and out, become a changing gallery of history in projected light.

Over time it becomes an ever-growing roll call of Americans.

Visitors walk a long gallery whose walls glow with a projected mural of American service members

Projected portraits

Faces in the light.

Halls and walkways will glow with portraits of Americans, and outdoor kiosks will let visitors explore each story.

  1. Through the year

    Names from the past. And the future.

    The themes change through the year: veterans in November, inventors in spring, and in turn Indigenous nations, pioneers, first responders and the everyday Americans whose names rarely make the history books.

  2. The weekly honoree

    A new face on the outdoor wall.

    Each week the outdoor wall will honor one American, such as Andrew Jackson Beard. Born enslaved, he taught himself to invent, and his railcar coupler helped save the lives of countless rail workers.

  3. Living visual archive

    Every return visit reveals someone new.

    As history unfolds, new names join the roll call. Visitors can step up to any kiosk to explore the full story behind each face.

“A forever renewed roll call, projected in living light.”

From the Living Memorial concept

Support the memorial

Keep the roll call growing.

Your gift adds new names and new stories to the roll call.

“Read the book” opens at this chapter, page 30.

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