A Gold Star mother whose son was killed in Iraq is joining a growing campaign against Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot monument near Arlington National Cemetery—warning that grieving military families will not remain silent while their sacred space is transformed.
Karen Meredith lost her son, Army First Lt. Ken Ballard, in Iraq in 2004. He was a fourth-generation Army officer and is buried at Arlington alongside thousands of other service members.
For Meredith, the cemetery is not a tourist attraction, political backdrop or location for a monumental presidential legacy project.
It is where her son rests.
“For me, Arlington has been a nice quiet place,” Meredith said in a video released by VoteVets. “We don’t need tourists overlooking funerals. I’m just appalled.”
Her warning was equally direct.
“If Trump thinks we’ll be quiet about this proposed arch, he’s wrong.”
A 25-story structure at Arlington’s entrance
Trump’s planned arch would rise approximately 250 feet—or roughly 25 stories—at Memorial Circle, positioned near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
Opponents say its sheer scale would radically alter one of the most emotionally significant landscapes in the United States.
The administration has acknowledged that the structure would obstruct the existing view of Arlington. It argues, however, that visitors would gain a “new” view of the cemetery from an observation deck built into the arch.
That defense has deepened the alarm among military families.
Arlington funerals are solemn and private ceremonies. Families arrive to bury loved ones who served the country, often accompanied by military honors, folded flags and the unbearable finality of a graveside farewell.
Cemetery rules are intended to prevent tourists from approaching, filming, photographing or otherwise disrupting those services.
Meredith fears the observation deck could create a new problem: tourists standing high above the grounds with the ability to watch funerals from a distance.
“Borders on sacrilege”
Retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton has also joined the opposition.
Eaton said placing the enormous monument between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington would block the historic view toward the cemetery’s rows of white marble headstones.
He called the proposal “entirely inappropriate” and said it “borders on sacrilege to the men and women buried” at Arlington.
“Memorial,” Eaton added. “The use of that word is not an accident.”
The existing landscape connects two of America’s most important national sites.
The Lincoln Memorial honors the president who preserved the Union during the Civil War. Across the Potomac lies Arlington, where service members from generations of American conflicts have been laid to rest.
Critics argue that this visual relationship carries meaning precisely because it is restrained. The cemetery’s power comes from its silence, scale and uninterrupted view—not from an enormous new structure competing for attention.
Historic landscape could be permanently altered
Charles A. Birnbaum, founder and CEO of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, warned that the arch would fundamentally change how visitors experience the cemetery.
“It will alter that hallowed ground and that feeling in association that everyone has when they experience the cemetery,” Birnbaum said.
The debate is not entirely new.
Birnbaum pointed to a 1916 proposal for an arch at the end of Memorial Bridge. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., an influential landscape architect, reportedly warned that such a structure would represent a “slap in the face to the Lincoln Memorial.”
The proposal was abandoned.
More than a century later, opponents say Trump is reviving the same mistake—this time on a vastly conspicuous scale and with an observation deck overlooking America’s most famous military cemetery.
Three years of construction beside daily funerals
Eaton also raised concerns about the construction schedule.
The administration reportedly intends to conduct work for as many as 20 hours per day over three years.
“Every weekday, someone is buried at Arlington National Cemetery,” Eaton said.
That means years of machinery, traffic, lighting and construction activity could unfold alongside military funeral processions.
For grieving families, the concern is not abstract. It involves the sounds and sights that could intrude upon the final moments in which they honor a spouse, parent, sibling or child.
Even if construction crews follow formal restrictions, opponents argue that a project of this magnitude cannot occur beside Arlington without changing its atmosphere.
Trump’s history with military controversies
The dispute has also revived scrutiny of Trump’s past comments and conduct involving fallen service members.
During his first term, Trump faced criticism after canceling a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris, where U.S. troops killed during World War I are buried.
The Atlantic later reported that Trump had referred to American war dead as “losers” and Marines killed at Belleau Wood as “suckers.” Trump has repeatedly denied making those remarks.
Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff, later said he had heard Trump disparage fallen and wounded service members.
The history has intensified suspicion among critics who see the proposed arch as another example of spectacle being placed above sacrifice.
A vote approaches
VoteVets is organizing support for veterans and military families seeking to stop the project.
The relevant commission is expected to vote on the proposal on October 1, giving opponents only weeks to mobilize public pressure.
For Meredith, the argument is profoundly personal.
Her son’s grave sits in a place where she has found quiet, dignity and a connection to the life he gave in service. She does not want that space overshadowed by a 25-story monument or exposed to spectators looking down from above.
Trump may envision the arch as a new national landmark.
The families whose loved ones are buried beneath it see something very different: a threat to the solemn ground where America keeps its promises to the dead.
And this Gold Star mother has made one thing unmistakably clear—she will not allow that threat to advance in silence.
