The Anthem Veterans memorial is SUPER awesome on Veteran’s Day!

In 2015, I visited the Anthem Veterans Memorial Veteran’s Day ceremony in Anthem, Arizona (just north of Phoenix).  Since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed 11:11 the time and 11/11 the date, going so far as to have a big 11-themed party on November 11, 2011

So when I read last year about the Anthem Veterans Memorial in Arizona that was astronomically designed to line up perfectly with the sun at 11:11:11 a.m. on November 11th, I immediately added it to my travel bucket list!

Anthem Veterans Memorial

Of course November 11th is not only a cool sounding date / time, it’s also Veteran’s Day, a time to honor military veterans, especially those who have died or been wounded while fighting.  The city of Anthem designed the memorial so that the 5 ellipses representing the 5 branches of the US military perfectly line up with the sun’s rays at 11:11 a.m. on November 11.

Check out what happens when the sun hits the Anthem Veterans Memorial at 11:11 a.m on November 11th

Visiting Anthem Veterans Memorial on Veteran’s Day 2015

While planning out my travel, I decided to see if I could fit in a visit to the Anthem Veterans Memorial.  When Hertz came out with $7.99 one-way car rentals going into Arizona, I decided to take one of my kids on a trip out west

We decided to visit Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon as well as pick up some new counties (I’m trying to visit all 3,143 counties after all!).   My son and I have had a great time using my Southwest Companion pass before it expires at the end of the year.

(SEE ALSO: 3 tricks to visit the Hoover Dam for free)

The Anthem Veterans Memorial is the backdrop to a Veteran’s Day ceremony that starts at 10 a.m., before the sun perfectly hits the Anthem Veterans Memorial at 11:11 a.m.  The program at the Anthem Veterans Memorial is a great one and probably similar to other Veteran’s Day programs in cities across America.

We actually got there a little before 10 a.m. and it was already PACKED!  We couldn’t even park at the Anthem Community Park (where the Anthem Veterans Memorial is located) – and had to park in the shopping center across the street

Here are a few pics of our visit to the Anthem Veterans Memorial.

We were able to wiggle our way into a position where we were able to get a pretty good view, but there were probably over a thousand people there, and so after the sun illuminated the seal at the Anthem Veterans Memorial, we backed out to let others take a chance to see it.

PRO TIP: I’d imagine that the Anthem Veterans Memorial also lines up pretty well around 11:11 a.m. on November 10th or 12th if you want to skip the crowds 🙂

Thank you to all who have served or are currently serving!

Newsletter Signup

Join the PWaC newsletter filled with credit card and travel tips

Join Now!

You have Successfully Subscribed!