Press Releases

On July 21, 2019, America’s Freedom Bell will ring in honor of the members of the 116th Congress who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Bell will chime every day until all 96 veterans serving in Congress have been recognized, and will subsequently sound for the 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who risked or gave their lives defending our freedoms. As the bell rings, each member’s name will be read aloud and recorded in a segment of America’s Honor Roll, a document maintained in perpetuity that highlights our nation’s military heroes.

“It is an honor to be recognized amongst my fellow colleagues and members of the U.S. Armed Forces for our service to this great nation,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “I applaud the Spirit of Liberty’s commitment to immortalizing members of our Armed Forces and their families by paying tribute to, and carefully recording, their sacrifices so that generations of Americans may never forget their service and sacrifice.”

This ceremony will continue every two years on July 21, the anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to honor the members of each Congress who have served the United States, both in the military and in our nation’s capital.

The Bell will reside in the Veterans Museum at Balboa Park in San Diego, California as part of a permanent exhibit that honors members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families; however, it will still travel across the world to national celebrations that honor Medal of Honor recipients.

Background:

• America’s Freedom Bell was cast with full military honors on June 6, 2013, the 69th Anniversary of D-Day.
• Forged in steel from the fallen Twin Towers, the bell is embossed with the emblem of each branch of the Armed Forces, in order of their founding.
• The Bell has traveled to numerous national sites including the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; Normandy, France; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; the USS Midway in San Diego.
• Since its inception, The Bell has been rung over 5 million times in honor of those who have served in the military.