Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that The Reconciliation Monument, crafted by renowned Virginian artist Moses Jacob Ezekiel, will soon return to Arlington National Cemetery—just steps from where Ezekiel himself is buried.
“I’m proud to announce that Moses Ezekiel’s beautiful and historic sculpture will be rightfully returned to Arlington National Cemetery near his burial site,” Hegseth posted on X.
The monument, commissioned by President William McKinley and unveiled in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson, was created to honor the reunification of our nation after the Civil War—a theme championed by presidents from both parties, including Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
In 2023, then–Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the statue removed and placed in storage at a Department of Defense facility in Virginia. Its return will be coordinated between the U.S. Army Center of Military History and Governor Glenn Youngkin, following requests from Ezekiel’s family and Hegseth.
“Moses Ezekiel’s sculpture will be returned to Arlington National Cemetery, where his legacy as a renowned American artist and decorated veteran can be honored,” Governor Youngkin stated.
Ezekiel, the first Jewish-American sculptor to gain international acclaim, served in the Confederate Army as a Virginia Military Institute cadet, fighting at the Battle of New Market. After the war, he moved to Rome, befriended General Robert E. Lee, and built a career that brought pride to Virginia and the nation.
The restoration of the monument is a victory for those who believe America’s history—its complexities and reconciliations—should be remembered, not erased.
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I thought the Reconciliation Statue was sent to the New Market Battlefield (owned by VMI) for display not sent to an US Army Storage facility.
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