Testimony of US Army Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright
For the National Capitol Planning Commission meeting on November 5, 2026
My name is Ann Wright. I served 29 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel. I was also a U.S. diplomat and served 16 years in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. I worked in the federal government under eight Presidential administrations beginning with Lyndon Johnson.I represent Veterans For Peace Chapter 113-Hawai’i.
For President Donald Trump to build a monument to himself, for that is exactly what it would be, is a sacrilege to both the history of the bridge and to the history of Arlington National Cemetery to which the Memorial Bridge leads, a place, as a retired U.S. Army Colonel, I hold with special reverence as such an important part of our nation’s history.
Veterans Say NO ARCH
Arlington National Cemetery contains the remains of many generations of military members and their families. “Bonespurs” Trump,
who got five deferments for military service, has referred to those, like myself who did serve in the military as “losers and suckers” and was especially disparaging to U.S. prisoners of war, such as Senator and Presidential candidate John McCain.
Veterans and military families have been outspoken in their condemnation of the Ego Arch. Three Vietnam veterans, representing millions of veterans, filed a lawsuit against the construction of the Arch.
I feel so strongly about the arch being a slap in the face of all U.S. citizens, but particularly of veterans, that I flew from my home in Honolulu, Hawaii to participate in twice a day protests at Memorial Circle for a week, from September 14-18, 2026. If I hadn’t needed to return home for obligations, I would have been at the Circle every day to join the daily protests which have taken place for 52 days.
I strongly believe it is our responsibility as educated citizens to challenge any attempt by this administration, or any administration, to rewrite the history of the Memorial Bridge which Trump is doing with the Arch.
NO Racist Trump Arch on Civil War Reunification Symbols
Arlington Bridge and the Memorial Circle are symbols of the reunification of the States of the nation after the Civil War which was fought to end the horrors of slavery in our country.
We have seen that Trump‘s cultural war on the history of the United States has already resulted in dramatic changes in the wording on many historical exhibits at the Smithsonian Museum, particularly those that describe the horrific effects of slavery on our nation.
In July 2025, President Trump ordered warning signs and exhibits installed outside the Smithsonian Museum of American History to attempt to convince the public that the museum does not accurately reflect American history. Trump called the museum’s portrayal of US history as too focused on “how bad slavery was.”
An arch created by, and essentially for, President Trump would always carry the connotation of his well-known racist beliefs, articulated by himself in his terrible comments on people and countries of color, and would be a dagger in the heart of the true history of the United States and in the hearts of those women and men who have served, and died, in the U.S. military.
Recognizing the massive defeat of Trump and his agenda in the vote of the American people only 2 days ago, I appeal to the members of the commission to reject this proposal of an Arch on Memorial Circle, an arch built for the ego of racist Donald Trump.
NO Money for Trump’s Vanity Projects
The American people told Trump and his administration through this election that they reject his war on Iran, tariffs on much of the countries of the world resulting high prices of every product sold in the U.S. and wasteful, unnecessary massive expenditures on Trump’s other vanity projects such as the East Wing of the White House, the helicopter pad at the White House and the vandalism done by the administration to the Kennedy Center and to the public golf course on Haines Point. I appeal to you members of the commission to show the same integrity as the American people and reject this vanity, ego Arch proposed by Donald Trump.
No Arch: Over Our Dead Bodies
As a veteran, I proudly returned from Hawai’i to the Memorial Circle on November 2 and plan to remain here until the proposal of Trump’s EGO Arch is “dead and buried”… in order to leave those dead and buried in Arlington National Cemetery in peace and quiet.
Ann Wright is a 29-year U.S. Army/Army Reserves veteran, a retired U.S. Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She is a member of the Veterans For Peace Advisory Board. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone. She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Wright was also a passenger on the Challenger 1, which along with the Mavi Marmara, was part of the 2010 Gaza flotilla. She served in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. In December 2001 she was on the small team that reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is the co-author of the book Dissent: Voices of Conscience. She has written frequently on rape in the military.
