National Memorial

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National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that commemorates a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by Congress. The memorial is often not located on a site directly related to the subject and many, such as the USS Arizona Memorial, do not have the word "national" in their titles. The earliest and perhaps most recognizable National Memorial is the uniquely designated Washington Monument.

Most national memorials are owned and administered by the National Park Service, however some are administered by other organizations but are considered affiliated areas of the National Park Service. The owners of affiliated areas may request certain assistance from that agency in maintaining the memorial.

As with all historic areas within the National Park System, national memorials are automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places; however, some memorials that are affiliated areas are not listed on the Register.

Occasionally, a private organization will erect a memorial and use the word "national" in the name without Congressional authorization. Apparently this is not illegal, except perhaps if the organization implies federal affiliation^{[citation needed]}. While these are intended to be national in scope, they are not "National Memorials" in the sense that they have the recognition of the American people through its government. One example is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Other Memorials include disaster Memorials, one such memorial is the Oklahoma City National Memorial. That memorial remembers the tragic events of the April 19, 1995 bombing on the Murrah Building. There is also a memorial undergoing legal matter right now, that memorial is the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.