About Monumental Honor

Our story

When Ian Berry was a high school student, a visit to Pearl Harbor changed the direction of his life. He went on to West Point and served as an Army officer with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the 7th Special Forces Group. Along the way he learned what a story well told can do, and then he learned that Richmond, his adopted city, was home to nine Medal of Honor recipients almost nobody could name.

One of them was Jimmie Monteith, a Thomas Jefferson High School graduate killed on D-Day leading men off Omaha Beach. Monumental Honor was founded to share his story, and it grew from there. In September 2022, we made our case in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: the city has an opportunity where monuments once stood.

Since then the mission has become concrete. More than $15,000 in scholarships for Richmond-area students, a mural on Main Street, wreaths at Richmond National Cemetery every December, a bridge kept clean in Powhatan Beaty's name, and, on the horizon, a monument in downtown Richmond honoring all nine.