National Veterans Memorial and Museum

About

NVMM will honor the contributions of our veterans, connect civilians and veterans, inspire service in communities, and educate about the value of service.

Story

There are almost 22 million living veterans throughout the United States, from our Greatest Generation to our recent heroes coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq.

And yet, there is no single monument or museum dedicated to the Veteran’s experience. There are institutions that focus on specific conflicts or branches of service, but there hasn’t been a place for us all to join together to celebrate and honor the sacrifice of all of our veterans, past and present... until now.

It is time for America to remember and to honor its veterans, regardless of branch of service or era of conflict or peace. It is time to give a voice to every man and woman who has served, every mother and father who has lost a son or daughter, and every child who has lost a parent. It is time for the National Veterans Memorial & Museum (NVMM). There isn’t a single, dedicated museum to the veteran’s experience.

America has a long, proud history of military service and volunteerism during wartime. Heroes such as General George Washington and Senator John H. Glenn are well documented on the national stage. But there are others – nearly countless in number – whose military experiences are known only to family, friends and descendants. NVMM will preserve and share these stories so that their sacrifices for freedom are remembered.

NVMM will be the only place where the stories of our veterans, their families and the Fallen – across all branches of service and all eras of conflict – will be told together. NVMM will bridge historical events to current concerns and strengthen understanding and respect between veterans and civilians. Artifacts and first-person testimonies will challenge visitors to confront the difficult history of topics such as colonialism and segregation and to begin a dialogue about the purpose, and ramifications, of military action. This cultural institution will stand as a place of inspiration for all visitors to come together as one people with a common bond and a shared pride in our veterans.

NVMM is neither a war memorial nor a military museum. NVMM will take visitors on a narrative journey telling individual stories and shared experiences of veterans throughout history. It will pay tribute to the sacrifices of servicemen and women and their families. History will be presented in a dynamic, participatory experience with photos, letters and personal effects, multi-media presentations, and interactive exhibits. Together, these elements will link our national story to the larger context of world events since our country’s earliest days, and will demonstrate the importance of individuals in shaping our history.

The museum is currently under construction in Downtown Columbus, Ohio with the grand opening slated for summer of 2018. The Columbus Downtown Development Corporation serves as the project manager – leading the design, construction, exhibit development and fundraising elements.