Las Vegas veterans memorial moves closer to completion — PHOTOS | Local Las Vegas

People participate during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison speaks during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

An architectural scale model is seen during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Alan Schrimpf, member of the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Board of Directors, speaks during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison claps after laying down a brick during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Officials lay down bricks during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Hugh Sinnock, right, vice president of customer experience at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, shakes his with Alan Schrimpf, member of the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Board of Directors, after his speech during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Hugh Sinnock, vice president of customer experience at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, speaks during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

Tom Warden, senior vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corporation, speaks during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

People listen during a national tribute ceremony honoring veterans at the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial outside of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @Erik_Verduzco

The long-sought Las Vegas Veterans Memorial moved closer to completion Saturday as veterans and officials involved in support of its construction gathered Saturday at the Sawyer Building to prepare the site for the memorial’s May 27 dedication, seven years after it was envisioned.

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison and others in attendance gave speeches and laid bricks for the memorial, which will feature 18 larger-than-life statues from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism.

The $2.2 million project is being being designed and produced by bronze sculptor Douwe Blumberg and sponsored by the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Foundation and American Shooters Inc., in partnership with the state. Scott Tiano, executive director of the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial, previously said the project’s vision was “to connect one generation of veterans to the next” and draw upon the common bonds of service to “provide a place to reflect, heal, forgive and move on.”