As far as the eye can see, among 20 acres in the middle of the nation's capital, stand rows and rows of tiny white flags.

More than 660,000 flags have been placed, each one representing an American life lost to COVID.

Mary Donoghue of Rochester is one of them. Her daughter traveled from Rochester to Washington to be there and place that white flag.

Even before she was born, mother and daughter shared an unbreakable bond.

"She knew I was a girl," Erin Hathaway recalls.

Mary Donoghue was a wife and mother to three children. She had 10 grandchildren.

When she died from COVID in April, just two people were allowed at her bedside.

"My mother was such a strong, faith-focused woman," Hathaway says. "We could not bring her to the church. There was no church service for her. So we had to have a cemetery service only."

COVID not only took Mary Donoghue. It robbed her family of a proper goodbye.

"My mother was more than a number. My mother was a gentle, loving soul: period."

More than a number. And yet, somehow in this sea of more than 600,000 flags, Hathway has found solace. She placed a flag with a message about - and to - her mom among the others at the memorial, all to victims of COVID.

"I didn’t know how to process this and now I'm seeing the other families who have been devastated by this and I hope this can bring them a sense of healing and renewal," Hathaway said.

For the first time since her mother died, Hathaway says she is able to talk about healing. And it is in that sea of flags, where her mother is remembered among thousands of others, that their mother-daughter bond is very much alive.

Hathaway learned about the COVID memorial through a national COVID support group. She and her husband attended the memorial's dedication Friday.

The display is open to the public through Oct. 3 on the National Mall.