An artist's rendering of the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial. (Image courtesy of the National Desert Storm Memorial Association)

In recognition of Gulf War veterans who served on active duty in support of two operations, a new monument is under construction in Washington, D.C., following a formal groundbreaking July 14.

Air Force Magazine reported the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial, designed as a park-like monument, will be situated on the National Mall to the north of the Lincoln Memorial.

When complete in two years' time, the new memorial will commemorate "the service and sacrifice" of U.S. military personnel who, from 1991 to 1992, "liberated Kuwait from Iraq and defended Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula from further invasion," according to information from the National Desert Storm Memorial Association.

Kuwait is the lead donor contributing to the memorial.

Created from Gulf War veterans' responses to a five-question survey, the monument's design presents the war's historical events and significance along with the "unique environmental and battle conditions experienced" by the troops who fought in it, the association said in a news release.

Replies from the vets led the association to conclude that the memorial's design should:

• Reflect the war's desert environment.
• Include a statue of soldiers wearing chemical warfare protective gear.
• Represent the war's so-called "left hook" maneuver by ground troops — a trick by which the U.S. Army cut off supplies and prompted Iraqi forces to retreat.

The National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial Association, after considering the matter, chose not to feature the names of service members who died in the war because doing so "would omit the names of so many of our comrades who were lost outside of the parameters" of the dates bookending the two operations, Air Force Magazine noted, and because its educational purpose is distinct from that of monuments such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is meant to be "a place of mourning, healing and reconciliation."

"[The Gulf War] memorial represents and includes many degrees of sacrifice," according to the association's statement, including that of soldiers who died in theater, those who since died as a result, "and those who are currently suffering as a result of their honorable service."

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies, served as a principal architect of Desert Storm's air campaign. He said the war was historically significant because, among other reasons, it "set expectations for low casualties," "presaged the age of precision weapons," marked the first use of a joint force concept of operations, and was the first time "airpower was the key force" in achieving victory.

The building of the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial is intended to finish in time for Veterans Day 2024, according to Air Force Magazine.

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