A Sea of Flags: Commemorating More Than 675,000 Americans Lost to COVID-19

The number of deaths in the United States due to COVID-19 has now passed 675,000—more than the number of Americans who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. In Washington, D.C., a new temporary art installation named “In America: Remember,” commemorates the many Americans who have died of COVID-19 over the past year and a half. Hundreds of thousands of small white flags were planted on 20 acres of the National Mall, based on a concept by the artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg. Each flag is meant to represent a life lost, and many carry messages written to loved ones.