A special memorial will be on display during the Army-Navy football game Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Global War On Terror Memorial Flag will be on display as Army and Navy meet for the 121st time.
“We put it in the shape of an American flag that’s draped over a fallen service member’s casket, something where someone in a wheelchair, I’m in a wheelchair myself, can see the bottom tags and the top tags,” said the memorial’s builder, retired Army Capt. James Howard.
Howard was commissioned into the Army in 2002 and served for 8 years, earning the rank of captain and completing Ranger, Sapper, Jumpmaster, and Special Forces courses. He medically retired in 2010 after numerous injuries left him a quadriplegic.
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Following his retirement from the Army, Howard started two non-profits, Veterans and Athletes United and REACHcycles to support children and veterans with disabilities.
“The memorial was always one thing we wanted to do to honor those who have fallen in the War on Terror since there was nothing out there,” he explained.
Howard said the memorial is personal for him because he has lost many friends during the course of the 20-year war.
“We also wanted to educate the younger generation on the importance of what the flag means to veterans and those who have served and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for it,” he added.
A group of volunteers came together and the memorial was completed in 2018. It has traveled everywhere from small towns to New York City, where it was on display this year during ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On both Memorial Day and Veterans Day this year, it was in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Ninety-five percent of the time it’s traveling,” explained Howard. “It’s been to over 60 locations since Memorial Day 2018.”
Howard said the memorial “really hit him in the gut” when he saw it completed.
“I know right away when a Gold Star Family comes up to it, and veterans who have fallen friends on it,” said.
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The flag takes about 90 minutes to set up and break down.
“I have amazing veteran volunteers who travel all over to set it up at these events,” said Howard.
VAU is beginning work on its second rendition of the flag, which will be housed in the western part of the country.
“I get so many applications for it to be out west in San Diego and areas like that,” he said.
But for that to happen, Howard said the VAU needs veterans to help out.
“We’re looking for good people who are willing to travel and set it up,” he said. “We cover all the lodging, the food, the gas. We just need help getting it there and setting it up.”
Howard hopes the second memorial can be completed by the summer of 2022. To learn more about the memorial and to volunteer, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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