Vietnam Vets Fight Trump’s ‘Arc de Trump’ Plan

A group of Vietnam War veterans and a historian are challenging President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, arguing the project disrespects fallen service members and reflects authoritarian symbolism rather than national unity.

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Retired Army Special Forces officer Jon Gundersen and former Navy officer Shaun Byrnes are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in February seeking to halt construction of the 250-foot monument planned for a traffic circle between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.

The lawsuit claims the administration rushed the project without proper congressional approval. The plaintiffs also argue the structure would disrupt a historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and the Robert E. Lee Memorial, which they say was designed to symbolise reconciliation after the US Civil War.

Renderings released for the project show an arch more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial. The design has drawn comparisons to Paris’s Arc de Triomphe.

Gundersen and Byrnes insist their opposition is not politically motivated. Speaking to CBS News, Gundersen said their actions reflected loyalty to the United States rather than to any president.

“I think what we’re doing is being loyal to the country,” he said.

Duty to fallen soldiers

Byrnes, who served two tours in Vietnam, said he joined the legal challenge out of a sense of duty to fellow soldiers buried at Arlington.

He described the proposal as disrespectful to those who died in service and said it had caused him to reconsider plans to be buried at the cemetery himself.

Veterans say monument reflects authoritarian politics

The lawsuit, led by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, faces opposition from the US Justice Department, which has argued the plaintiffs do not have legal standing to sue.

Although Congress has not formally voted on the current proposal, administration officials have said earlier authorisation exists through a century-old plan that envisioned “two stately columns” representing the North and South after the Civil War.

Last month, a federal judge declined to temporarily block construction, though work on the project has not yet begun.

Plaintiffs argue project disrespects Arlington dead

Gundersen, 81, and Byrnes, 83, said they view the arch less as a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and more as a monument to President Donald Trump personally.

Last year, Trump displayed a model of the proposed structure in the Oval Office and described it as “fantastic”. When asked by CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe who the monument was intended for, Trump replied: “Me.”

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 26 May 2026