A new National Military Monument has opened at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington as part of the America250 celebrations marking the nation's 250th birthday. The installation allows visitors to search for relatives who served in the US military, with names appearing within seconds on two large digital American flags, and has already prompted emotional reactions from veterans and family members who found loved ones honoured among the display.

The monument, sponsored by USAA, commemorates more than 41 million Americans whose military service spans from the Revolutionary War to the present day. It draws on military records, public databases, veterans' organisations and voluntary submissions to build its searchable database, and opened to the public on Monday as one of the flagship installations of the nationwide America250 programme.