Trump signs act clearing the way for Medal of Honor monument on National Mall

President Donald Trump signed legislation Thursday authorizing the future National Medal of Honor Monument to be located within the Reserve of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., near the Lincoln Memorial, during a ceremony honoring Medal of Honor recipients in Arlington, Texas.

Trump signed the Hershel "Woody" Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act at the National Medal of Honor Museum after touring the museum and meeting more than a dozen recipients.

The legislation does not create the monument itself, which Congress previously authorized in 2021. Instead, it allows the future monument to be located within the Reserve, a protected area of the National Mall that includes some of Washington's most prominent monuments and memorials.

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Trump greeted and shook hands with recipients before taking the stage for the signing ceremony.

"We're privileged to have with us 15 of the 65 living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor," Trump told the audience.

"When I see the recipients of the Congressional Medal, those that are living, many are dead. They died. And they died in battle. Some of the battles are … I read inscriptions of what took place. That level of bravery is incredible," Trump said.

The act is named for Williams, a Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima and was the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipient when he died in 2022.

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Trump recounted Williams' heroism before recognizing members of his family who attended the ceremony.

"In the Battle of Iwo Jima, he carved a path to American victory, literally carved a path so soldiers could get in and win through a deadly gantlet of enemy strongholds," Trump said.

"And back and forth, he went. He just kept going back and forth," Trump continued. "And one machine gun nest after another. He knocked [them] out, and he did it for hours and hours. People said they've never seen anything quite like it."

National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation Chairman Charlotte Jones said 16 of the nation's 65 living Medal of Honor recipients were present at the museum Thursday.

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"This is not a war museum. This is a museum about heart, about courage, about sacrifice and patriotism," Jones said.

The museum foundation said the effort to create and locate the monument has received eight votes in Congress over six years, all unanimously. The location act itself also passed both chambers without opposition, according to the foundation.

Jones said that bipartisan support reflected the significance of the Medal of Honor and the values associated with it.

"That is the inspirational power of the Medal of Honor," Jones said. "And that is why this project matters."

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