States have begun creating memorials for COVID-19 victims.

States lead as national marker effort stalls

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Ohio has planted a memorial grove of native trees to remember people who died of COVID-19, and governors and state lawmakers nationwide are considering their own ways to mark the toll of the virus.

Temporary memorials have sprung up across the U.S. — 250,000 white flags at RFK stadium in the nation’s capital, a garden of hand-sculpted flowers in Florida, strings of origami cranes in Los Angeles.

The creation of more lasting remembrances that honor the over 600,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus, though, is fraught compared with past memorial drives because of the politics.

Last year, a bill kickstarting a national COVID-19 memorial died in Congress as the Trump administration sought to de-emphasize the ravages of the pandemic.

For governors who may be staking their political fortunes on the success of their virus response, however, the power to tell their own stories could be critical.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, were among the first to seize the virus narrative with their memorial proposals this year.

This month, Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced a panel of experts from state government and the local art community had selected 11 artists to submit design proposals for that state’s permanent memorial after a money-raising campaign this spring. A state lawmaker in Maine proposed legislation there to do the same.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Memorial Grove that DeWine dedicated in April at a state park near Chillicothe, in southern Ohio, included among its native trees the white oak, which can live for 400 years.

“Maybe someone will come here and will talk about their grandmother, great-grandmother, greatgreat-grandmother who went through the pandemic,” DeWine said at the event. “Maybe someone in their family died, maybe someone in their family was a nurse or doctor, someone who was there to make a difference for others. We should not forget the sacrifices that have been made.”

Elise Amendola The Associated Press Marcy Jacobs, left, stands in Holliston, Mass., with daughter Jaclyn Winer under flags bearing names of people, including husband Keith, who died from COVID-19.