This natural gas fuelled eternal flame is located beneath a large freestanding arch - both are memorials to the military men and women of the Virginia Peninsula who have died in battle.
On Memorial Day, 1969, an eternal flame was donated by the American Legion to the Arch site. Standing fourteen feet high the eternal flame which sits under the arch was cast in bronze by Womack Foundry, Inc. (of Newport News) in the 1960s, and was hand crafted by the Foundry's founder and president, Ernest D. Womack.
In 1973, the flame that had been established was ordered to be turned off by then-City Manager William Lawson. The call to extinguish the flame came during the oil shortage of that year. As one would expect, this met with severe criticism and protest, especially from veterans' groups. The solution provided by the city was to replace the flame with a flashing light, which has been described as looking "absurd." The flame remained unlit until Memorial Day, 1978. The flame was threatened again the next year, when the new City Manager, Frank Smiley, was looking for ways to cut expenses. The flame's cost (five hundred dollars per month) was seen as a potential savings. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and a new fuel line that burned less gas was installed. The bill was reduced to sixty-five dollars a month. This led Charlie Covington, the city treasurer, to remark, "Since there are 670 names on Victory Arch plaques, that works out to about one third of a penny per day per person. I'd hate like hell to come back and look down and see Smiley has cut off the flame for a third of a penny per day per person."
In 1980, the Olympic Flame made its way through Newport News on its way to Lake Placid, New York for the Winter Olympics. The flame was brought to the Victory Arch, and the flame was merged with the Arch's eternal flame for a brief time before continuing on its journey.