The design for the National Medal of Honor Museum can be seen as a metaphor for that which it represents. Five stainless steel monoliths standing strong and unwavering represent the ideals and values of the Medal—Courage, Integrity, Patriotism, Leadership, and Sacrifice. The visually heavy mass of the museum proper, intended to represent the weight of responsibility that Medal recipients bear, is delicately carried by the columns of stainless steel, representative of the tenuous relationship between our freedom and those that protect it and assure its perpetuity.
The design allows for multiple interpretations; a line of soldiers standing at attention or marching into battle; military pallbearers carrying the flag draped coffin of their fallen brethren; the five branches of our armed services—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard—all of which support the meaning and story associated with the Medal of Honor.
