Washington, D.C. – The National Desert Storm Memorial Association (NDSMA) Board of Direc- tors publicly announced the formal revision of the name of the memorial.

Former name: National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial New name: Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial

The enabling legislation (introduced in 2012 and passed in 2014) authorizing the NDSMA to build the memorial referred to the memorial as the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Me- morial. Although Storm/Shield appeared out of chronological order, this was done purposefully by the lawmakers to ensure that “Storm” got the most attention as Storm is the name of the war. According to the lawmakers, the memorial needed to have the name Storm first and they did not want to omit the word “Shield” since we had deaths occur during Shield.

The Board of Directors for the NDSMA were not in favor of the reversal but were extremely

thankful for the law that passed authorizing the construction of the Memorial, the additional law

authorizing building in an Area 1 designation in Washington D.C., and the agency and commis-

sion approvals that granted the NDSMA’s preferred location at the National Mall adjacent to the

Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In 2022, The National Park Service (NPS) concurred with the NDSMA’s recommendation to list

the operations in chronological order in the memorial title. The NPS also recommended re-

moval of the word “National” in order to maintain consistency with established war memorials on

the National Mall and within Washington D.C.’s monumental core.

On Dec 11, 2022, the NDSMA announced the revised name of the memorial: Desert Shield and

Desert Storm Memorial. Once dedicated, the Memorial will be an official unit of the National

Park System under the management of National Mall and Memorial Parks. As an official Na-

tional Park System unit, the Memorial will be assigned the four-letter alpha code ‘DSDS’.

Since 2011, the NDSMA has worked to achieve its singular mission, construction of the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial. The NDSMA’s goal is the completion and dedication of the memorial by 2024.

The NDSMA is a federally recognized, tax-exempt, 501(c)3 structure led by an all-veteran board of directors.

Press Releases — National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial
— Read on www.ndswm.org/press-releases