The Gettysburg Foundation says U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick will deliver the keynote address Nov. 12 at the opening of A Field of Remembrance, a flag installation near the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. The installation will be open to the public through Nov. 23.
McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. His Senate biography says he deployed to the Middle East during the first Gulf War and retired as an Army captain.
The Foundation’s website lists an expanded goal of 17,760 commemorative flags, after the campaign surpassed its original goal of 7,000. The number connects the Battle of Gettysburg with the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
The Foundation’s latest online tally showed 9,262 flags sponsored toward the expanded goal. Sponsorship costs $18.63 for one flag, a reference to 1863, and participants may dedicate flags in tribute to people they wish to remember.
The flags honor the more than 51,000 Americans killed, wounded, captured or missing during the Battle of Gettysburg. The Foundation describes the display as a public act of remembrance and a way for visitors to reflect on the battle’s human cost.
The field will stand near the Eternal Light Peace Memorial from Nov. 12 through Nov. 23. The display is free and open to the public, according to Destination Gettysburg’s event listing.
Community members can help install the flags on Nov. 12. The Foundation lists Nov. 13 as the rain date for installation. The email announcing McCormick’s keynote did not include a ceremony time or a full schedule.
Proceeds support the Gettysburg Foundation’s preservation and education work in partnership with the National Park Service. The Foundation says that work includes preserving the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and reopening the David Wills House.