Veterans and relatives see no place for Trump's arch near Arlington National Cemetery

Shaun Byrnes, 83, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, arrives for an interview near Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Monday, June 8, 2026. Public Citizen, representing Byrnes and other veterans, is suing the Trump administration to block construction of the proposed Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle. Eric Lee for NPR hide caption

Some of the most forceful objections against President Trump's proposed triumphal arch are coming from — and on behalf of — veterans.

That's because the 250-foot structure would be built on a roundabout near the main entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for over 400,000 active-duty service members, veterans and their families.

The Trump administration says in its proposal that the purpose of the arch is to "celebrate the triumphs of the American people, inspire patriotism and love of country, and beautify our nation's capital."

But critics of the arch call it a presidential "vanity project" that will complicate traffic, disrupt the symbolic view between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial and disrespect those buried on those nearby hallowed grounds. Along with Democratic lawmakers , detractors also say it can't proceed without congressional authorization – which Trump has said he does not need and will not seek.

A group of three Vietnam War veterans, joined by an architectural historian, is suing the administration on those grounds to try to block construction of the arch.

One of those veterans, 83-year-old Shaun Byrnes of Virginia, met NPR on Monday outside the cemetery entrance on Arlington Memorial Bridge. It's just steps from the grassy traffic circle where Byrnes hopes an arch will never stand.

"There are other important monuments to our best presidents in Washington," he said. "They were all constructed not at the direction of those great men, but after they had passed away by our citizens as a way of honoring them and keeping their memories alive. This current arch does not check any of those boxes."