Last modified on Fri 16 Apr 2021 02.02 EDT
On a typical day the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington draws old soldiers from that conflict to run their fingers over the names, etched into polished black granite, of more than 58,000 comrades who died.
So the creators of a first world war memorial in the nationâs capital faced a particular challenge: no one who fought in it is still living.
Their answer is a monumental bronze sculpture that features 38 hyper-realistic, larger than figures to depict the great war, accompanied by information panels that tell the story of its origins, costs and consequences.
The memorial opens on Friday with a mostly virtual ceremony featuring Joe Biden, the interior secretary, Deb Haaland, and the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell. The site will raise a flag that has flown over nine first world war battlefield cemeteries in Europe over the past three years and there will be a flyover by the air forceâs 94th Fighter Squadron.