A Sea of Blue: The Meaning and Making of the I AM ALS Flag Display
If you visited Washington, D.C. this past May, you might have witnessed an unforgettable sight: thousands of bright blue flags snapping in the wind, stretching across the National Mall toward the Washington Monument.
Organized and hosted by the patient-led advocacy group I AM ALS, this installation was the centerpiece of their 5th Annual Community Gathering and Awareness Event. But these flags are far more than just a temporary monument—they are a labor of love, a tribute to those we hold dear, and a stark visual demand for urgent legislative action.
Thousands of blue flags on the National Mall. Source: Heather Diehl / Getty Images
The Meaning Behind the Blue
The numbers are sobering: every year, roughly 6,000 Americans are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To help the public and lawmakers visualize the true scale of this disease, I AM ALS plants one flag for every annual diagnosis.
Each blue flag is personal. They are pre-printed with the names of individuals who are currently battling ALS, as well as those who have been lost to the disease. The display serves a dual purpose: it creates a sacred space for families to honor their loved ones, while simultaneously demonstrating to Congress the sheer volume of lives at stake. The flags are a visual megaphone pressing lawmakers to prioritize critical funding, such as the reauthorization of the ACT for ALS law, to support the research necessary to end this fatal neurodegenerative disease.
The Process: A Staggering Labor of Love
While the final display is breathtaking, visitors rarely see the monumental logistical and physical effort required to make it happen.
This year, the reality of the disease was especially visible—volunteers planted a record 6,572 pre-printed flags. The journey of each flag begins long before it touches the grass of the National Mall.
The Data: When I AM ALS opened submissions for names, they received over 9,000 requests. A small data analytics team worked around the clock to carefully review and manually "dedupe" the list, ensuring that different spellings or nicknames for the same person were combined so every unique individual received their rightful place.
The Preparation: The final list of names is sent to the printer just weeks before the event. Once the flags arrive, a determined team spends a full day sorting them alphabetically, bundling them in groups of 25, and packing them into crates for transport.
The Installation: Volunteers have just one day of daylight to plot and plant the installation. The layout is carefully mapped to ensure there are wide, wheelchair-accessible rows so every patient and family member can safely navigate the display.
The actual planting is grueling physical work. The turf on the National Mall is composed of hard-packed clay. Volunteers cannot simply push the flags into the dirt; they have to kneel on the ground, use a screwdriver and a mallet to pound a hole into the earth, and then carefully wedge the flagpole in so it stands perfectly upright.
Divided into teams of distributors, installers, measurement advisors, and supervisors, volunteers work through rain, heat, and immense physical fatigue. By the time the final row is installed, quadriceps are burning and hands are blistered—but the shared dedication to the ALS community pushes everyone through to the finish line.
Honoring the Effort
Here at OPALS 4 ALS, we are incredibly moved by the dedication of the I AM ALS team and their volunteers. Their flags serve as a powerful reminder that behind every statistic is a name, a family, and a story. We stand with them in their demand for better funding, faster trials, and ultimately, a cure.
More Information can be found on the I AM ALS website: https://www.iamals.org/2026-gathering/