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Photos: Over 650,000 white flags commemorate pandemic’s toll on the U.S.

Helicopter flies over the National Mall, with grids of small white flags planted in the grass
Marine One, carrying President Biden, flies over the “In America: Remember” public art installation near the Washington Monument on Monday. The installation, a concept by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, includes more than 650,000 small white flags, some with personal messages to those who have died of COVID-19.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
By Kent Nishimura
Staff PhotographerFollow

As the number of Americans who have died of COVID-19 surpasses the U.S. death toll of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, a new art installation in Washington commemorates those lost.

The installation, a concept by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, includes more than 650,000 small white flags, some with personal messages to those who have died, planted across 20 acres of the National Mall.

A woman sits on a bench amid rows of small white flags in the grass
Elizabeth Cooper sits on a bench looking at the “In America: Remember” public art installation on the National Mall on Monday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A couple hold hands walking between grids of small white flags in the grass
People stroll through the blocks of small white flags on the National Mall on Saturday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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A person stands at the corner of four blocks of white flags in the grass, seen from above
An aerial view of the “In America: Remember” art installation on the National Mall.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
An in memoriam message written in black ink on a small white flag, with the Washington Monument in the background
Some of the flags include personal messages for those who have died of COVID-19.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Aerial view of someone walking on a pathway between blocks of white flags planted in the grass
A visitor walks through the 20 acres of small white flags.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Rows of small white flags, with the White House in the far background
The White House is seen in the distance from the “In America: Remember” installation.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A man in a bicycle helmet sits on the grass next to rows of white flags
A visitor sits near one of the many blocks of small white flags.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A woman bends over to place a small white flag in the grass, near the Washington Monument
George Washington University student Lily Nikias helps put flags into the ground at the “In America: Remember” art installation Monday.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
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Photo editing by Keith Bedford

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Kent Nishimura

Kent Nishimura is a former staff photographer with the Los Angeles Times, based in Washington, D.C. Born in Taiwan, Nishimura immigrated to the United States, grew up in Hawaii and is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International, the National Headliner Awards, the White House News Photographers Assn. and the National Press Photographers Assn., among others. He has worked on staff at newspapers across the United States and freelanced for many national and international publications before joining The Times in 2017.

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