Military veterans announce establishment of the National LGBT Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC as a visible and lasting testament to the contribution GLBT service members have made.
The Board of Directors of NLGBTVM has entered into an agreement with the Board of Directors of Historic Congressional Cemetery to establish the Memorial there and has purchased cemetery plots for the project. The plan includes the option to inter cremains for those veterans who wish to be memorialized on site. For those who want to have their service recognized but who do not want to bury their ashes, there is an option to buy a brick engraved with their service information.
The plan includes accepting designs for the Memorial/Monument submitted by artists nationwide. A committee will select from the designs submitted those that best meet the requirements and then those will be juried by a committee of professionals to select the winner of the design contest.
Nancy Russell, a retired Army LTC and Chair of the NLGBTVM Board of Directors said, "The time has come for those of us who were forced to serve in silence to honor our fellow veterans with a dignified and impressive memorial in our national capitol. The National LGBT Veterans Memorial will provide a fitting resting place where our veterans may, as Leonard Matlovich urged us to do, 'leave a lasting record of our accomplishments'."
NLGBTVM is targeting Memorial Day 2014 for a dedication ceremony. Those who want more information or to donate should go to the website at www.nlgbtvm.org .
