There’s the platitude you hear every year, especially around Memorial Day: “remember the fallen.” It’s what every American is supposed to do on the holiday. Because that’s what it was created for.

Former United States Navy veteran Ron White has taken the truism, however, and applied it exactly.

It took him ten months, but he’s successfully memorized the names of every American killed in Afghanistan — 2,300 fallen warriors in all. Currently on a countrywide tour, he recites them for an audience on a portable wall, where writes the name and ranks of the late veterans in the chronological order of their deaths.

“I think it’s important for people to see the wall and understand the scope of the sacrifice,” said White. “I think it’s a cliche to say that they sacrificed for our freedoms, but they really did.”

It’s worth nothing that White is a reigning memorization champion.

“If I was a painter, I would’ve painted a portrait. If I was a singer, I would’ve written a song. It only made sense to use my memory.”