“BURSTS OF LIGHT” NATIONAL COVID 19 MEMORIAL - concept

Over 1 million people have died in the United States since Covid–19 bursts into the world.  To commemorate their loss, they are transformed into bursts of lights; 1 million LED lamp, one for each life, each a star of light and hope, burst into the landscape.  Each light has the name of the hero remembered. Together, they create galaxies of memory and redemption. 

As civic heroes, and the symbolic counterpart of war heroes, the bursts of light deserve to be located at the entrance of Arlington Cemetery, along the Potomac River.  Here, they would be experienced at eye level along the Mount Vernon trail, seen from above from Memorial Bridge and reflected on the water from the Lincoln Memorial.  These civic heroes would be remembered as part of our nation's symbolic landscape.