Once each year, at precisely 11:11 a.m., the Anthem Veterans Memorial in Phoenix comes to life in honor of the over 20 million individuals who lost their lives during World War I.
This auspicious albeit fleeting moment happens on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour – proclaimed a national holiday by President Eisenhower in 1954 – a fitting tribute to the armistice signed between the Allied Powers and Germany in a railway car at Compiègne, France in 1918.
On Veteran’s Day, the shadows of five pillars align – as if on cue – to form the United States seal.
– Hannah Van Sickle, The Arizona 100