Remembered Light is a collection of twenty-five art pieces using glass shards collected from bombed-out European cathedrals, synagogues, and chapels during World War II by the late Frederick McDonald.

There was glass everywhere and I picked up quite a number of these broken pieces that were deeply smoked by the explosion of the bombs. I put them away and then mailed them home. The shards represented something deep that you ought to remember about this. It’s so often a little thing that can bring back a flood or memories into your head.

Currently on Display

The National Veterans Memorial and Museum

300 West Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215

September 13, 2024–March 2, 2025

EXPLORE THE ART

Glass Works By Thirteen Artists

Each piece includes a transcript from the chaplain’s memory of the specific location and events related to it. The unaltered glass fragments and the narratives have been transcended by 13 artists to convey the idea of being a witness of the era one experiences leading to the universal longing for peace.

FRED’S JOURNEY

Follow Fred’s path through Europe and WWII history

Get a complete picture of the context of the McDonald Peace Windows, through the framework of Fred McDonald’s movement through Europe at the end of the war. Learn more about Fred, World War II history, and the sites he visited through this interactive chronological documentation of Fred’s journey.

Follow Fred’s Journey

A PERMANENT HOME FOR THE WINDOWS

San Francisco, CA

Since 2010, the Interfaith Center of the Presidio has been the home of the McDonald Peace Windows. Built in 1931, the Presidio Chapel now needs a major facelift and expansion to best serve the interfaith center of tomorrow and importantly, to provide a permanent home for the McDonald Windows in a new 1,900 square foot addition. Your support is vital to ensure the windows’ permanent home.

Donate Today

visit the Windows

Current Exhibition

The windows are currently on exhibit in Columbus, OH, at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Visitors are welcome between 10am and 5pm with a Museum ticket (purchasable online or in person). Parking is available in the Museum parking lot; use the entrance on Belle Street.

Visiting Information

NEws and Announcements

  • Glass Fragments from World War II Exhibition Opens September 14 at the NVMM

    Opening Night Reception to Take Place on September 13 at 6:30 p.m.; NVMM Will Be Exhibit’s Final Stop Before Its Permanent Install at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA COLUMBUS, Ohio – The National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) today announced the opening of Remembered Light: Glass Fragments from World War II, which will run September…

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  • Dave Nemo Show Feature

    Bruce McDonald discusses how the Remembered Light project started on The Dave Nemo Show. They discuss finding the “shoe box” of shards, Fred McDonald’s initial views on Hitler and how that eventually pushed him to get involved in the war and so much more.

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  • WWII Bombed Churches And Synagogues Live On In Art Glass Exhibit

    The man in the trenchcoat stood in the ruined church, gazing down at a fallen crucifix, its life-sized image of Jesus broken, bashed and half-covered in rubble.  Nearby, a statue of the Virgin Mary, somehow still erect after intense bombing, looked down with the man, her eyes seemingly full of sorrow. It was 1945, and…

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