page_title: List of national memorials of the United States
hierarchical_section_title: List of national memorials of the United States
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. postage stamp of Mount Rushmore National Memorial 1927-1952 Black Hills, South Dakota - 116,255,000 issued August 11, 1952 Keystone, South Dakota - commemorative 25th anniversary stamp - Designer: William. K. Schrage - Engraver: M. D. Fenton
context_page_description: National memorial is a designation in the United States for an officially recognized area that memorializes a historic person or event. As of May 2019 the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, owns and administers thirty memorials as official units and provides assistance for five more, known as affiliated areas, that are operated by other organizations. Congress has also designated several additional independently operated sites as national memorials. Another six memorials have been authorized and are in the planning or construction stages. Memorials need not be located on a site directly related to the subject, and many, such as the Lincoln Memorial, do not have the word "national" in their titles.
  The earliest and perhaps most recognizable is the uniquely designated Washington Monument, which was completed in 1884 and transferred to the NPS in 1933. The most recently named is the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, so designated by Congress and dedicated in 2018. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial was created out of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in 2019 and was previously just the USS Arizona Memorial.
context_section_description: National memorial is a designation in the United States for an officially recognized area that memorializes a historic person or event. As of May 2019 the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior, owns and administers thirty memorials as official units and provides assistance for five more, known as affiliated areas, that are operated by other organizations. Congress has also designated several additional independently operated sites as national memorials. Another six memorials have been authorized and are in the planning or construction stages. Memorials need not be located on a site directly related to the subject, and many, such as the Lincoln Memorial, do not have the word "national" in their titles.
  The earliest and perhaps most recognizable is the uniquely designated Washington Monument, which was completed in 1884 and transferred to the NPS in 1933. The most recently named is the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, so designated by Congress and dedicated in 2018. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial was created out of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in 2019 and was previously just the USS Arizona Memorial. The NPS national memorials are in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Washington, D.C., has the most, eleven, followed by Pennsylvania and New York, each with three. The affiliated areas are in four states (two additional beyond those with NPS memorials) and the Northern Mariana Islands, while the other sites are in nine states (five additional), the District of Columbia, and Midway Atoll.
  Among the NPS national memorials and affiliated areas, nine celebrate US presidents, eleven recognize other historic figures, six commemorate wars, five memorialize disasters, and five represent early exploration. Ten of the nineteen non-NPS memorials commemorate wars or veterans, another six represent groups of people who died for related reasons, and two relate to Native American history. Several major war memorials are located on or near the National Mall, contributing to the national identity. The historic areas within the National Park System are automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  "National Memorial" is omitted below in the names of sites that include it; others may separate the two words or just use "Memorial", and there is also one international memorial included. Self-appellations by private organizations, such as the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, that are not officially designated are not listed here, as Congress has reserved the right to create national memorials.
caption: Mount Rushmore National Memorial on a commemorative 1952 stamp
exif: {}