This memorial doesn’t honour an event or a person, but instead the residents of the District of Columbia who served during World War I. The District of Columbia is a federal district of the United States and includes Washington, the nation’s capital. At the end of the War of Independence, Virginia and Maryland, who originally owned the territory, decided to concede the land. At this point, the District of Columbia emerged as a completely independent territory from the United States. It was here that the American capital was built. The name "District of Columbia" refers to Christopher Columbus, known for discovering America. Today, the term "Washington, D.C." is used for the city within this district, rather than Washington state, in the western part of the country. The memorial was inaugurated on November 11, 1931—exactly 13 years after the armistice—to honour the 26,000 Washingtonians who served in the war and the 499 soldiers who lost their lives.