a composite image showing 670,000 flags memorializing Covid deaths on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The epic COVID-19 memorial on the National Mall, in one stunning photo

4,882 photos taken over 30 hours. More than 670,000 flags representing American lives lost. An incalculable measure of grief.

A composite photograph captures the passage of day to night at the “In America: Remember” art installation on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Each flag represents an American life lost to COVID-19.
Photograph by Stephen Wilkes

For more than 30 hours, photographer and National Geographic Explorer Stephen Wilkes watched people move through the sea of white flags below him on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. He saw young children bend down curiously to examine the small flags, and cyclists lay down their bikes to take in the 20-acre expanse of them. He saw skateboarders roll through, selfie-takers frame shots—and passersby slowly realize that each flag represents a life lost to COVID-19.

On September 18 and 19, starting before sunrise and finishing after sunset, Wilkes took 4,882 photographs of the art installation In America: Rememberan exhibit that aims to convey the enormity of the country’s pandemic losses. He and his team then blended the photographs

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