Kuwait has pledged $10 million to help build the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Scott Stump, CEO and president of the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association made the announcement on Monday. Stump said the organization is honored and humbled by the show of support.
“This lead donation by the Government of Kuwait is an important validation of the historical importance of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, and is a display of the deep, special, and lasting friendship between our two countries,” he said.
As of Dec. 31, NDSWA has raised $9 million of the $40 million needed to construct the memorial.
The memorial is planned for a site near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Its tentative design would be a half-circle representative of the so-called left hook used by American ground forces to cut off Iraqi troops in the Saudi desert during the 1991 conflict that ousted Iraq from Kuwait.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al Sabah said the memorial, once complete, will embody and eternalize the strong relationship that exists between his country and the United States.
Enabling legislation for the memorial was signed by President Barack Obama in 2014. President Donald Trump signed the law authorizing its construction in 2017.
NDSWM has been working to construct the memorial since 2011 and hopes to dedicate it on Nov. 11, 2021.
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