National Infantry Museum honors service members killed after 9/11

The National Infantry Museum spent the last few days observing the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 by remembering the service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country in the Global War on Terrorism. The nationally renowned museum located in Columbus was closed September 11, 2026, to host a reception for Gold Star families. Those who gathered listened to personal stories and tributes from fellow family members of a network nobody aspires to belong.

More than 7,000 troops were killed in the decades long conflicts following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Their names are etched on a joint-service memorial located on the grounds of the museum which was rededicated during a ceremony on September 12, 2026. This year, 29 new names join the memorial. “Every name is a life, a family, a story, and a sacrifice that will never be forgotten,” the museum noted on its Facebook page.

To honor their sacrifice, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial was originally dedicated at the National Infantry Museum October 16, 2017, according to the museum. The memorial includes granite panels engraved with the names of all service members who have given their lives in the conflict, narrative panels explaining the conflict, and murals with artwork from each service.

It also includes a 13’ steel beam from World Trade Center Tower 1 that was presented to Fort Benning by NYC Firefighters. In the center of the memorial is a five-sided platform paying tribute to those who were killed in the Pentagon.

The Global War on Terrorism Memorial also features a bronze figure of Medal of Honor recipient SPC Ross McGinnis. The 19-year-old threw himself on a grenade that had been thrown into the Humvee he was riding in during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although he easily could have escaped the vehicle, he chose to absorb the full force of the blast, which killed him instantly but saved the lives of four crew members according to the museum’s website. McGinnis is the only Infantryman to date to receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in the Global War on Terrorism.