The Virginia War Memorial will honor fallen service members in a unique way this Memorial Day by having veterans, “Gold Star families”, and members of the public will read aloud the names of nearly 12,000 Virginians killed or missing in action over an estimated twelve hour time period.

The names, etched in glass and stone at the Shrine of Memory, represent Virginians who died during wartime from World War II to the never-ending “War on Terror”.

The Virginia War Memorial, a division of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS), will host the 69th annual Commonwealth’s Memorial Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 26, 2025, in the Heilman Amphitheater. The “Say Their Names Marathon” will begin at the conclusion of the formal ceremony in the Shrine of Memory – 20th Century. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the ceremony and to support those reading the names through the afternoon and evening.