 A stainless steel urn containing soil from Shevchenko's grave was installed at the base of the memorial in May 1965. A commemorative book which includes a brief history of the monument, a list of the memorial fund donors, and other documents related to the site were also installed in the base. The memorial was the site of protest rallies held by Ukrainian Americans who objected to the Soviet Union's policies. It has been described as "a symbol of Ukrainian independence and a rallying point of the Ukrainian-American community." Ukrainian dignitaries still visit the memorial, such as President Viktor Yushchenko, who laid a wreath at the statue in April 2005. Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Olexander Motsyk, Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, each visited the site in 2014. The memorial site is administered by the National Park Service, a federal agency of the Interior Department.
