Today's post is a living memorial. I was on the campus of the University of Mississippi when I came across what I thought was merely a nice stand of magnolia trees. As the sign notes, Estella Hefley, the Dean of Women at Ole Miss, and her students planted these trees in honor of the university’s war dead in 1945. The sign notes that there is a plaque in the university’s Alumni House with the names of the fallen which was dedicated in 1951. However, day I visited in March 2021 that building was closed, and I was unable to get a photo. Mississippi is the Magnolia State and the tree’s flower graces the current state flag. A fitting and thoughtful memorial. I was pleased to see that although time or weather had taken a couple of the original trees that the university replaced them, so the grove remains intact.

If you’ve never been to Charleston, WV, I would encourage a visit. The people are particularly friendly, and the state capitol is gorgeous. It is a beautiful domed structure reminiscent of the national capitol building in Washington. The grounds are very nice as well. Large open green spaces with large trees surround the building and the front opens to a grand view of the Kanawah River (pronounced can-aw-uh). In addition to the capitol building itself, numerous other less notable state office building dot the site. One exception is the West Virginia Cultural Center which is a lovely museum of all manner of Mountain State things. There are several statues and memorials on the grounds. Today’s post is the West Virginia Veterans Memorial which is located on the northwest side of the complex. A circular formation surrounded by water, the memorial honors West Virginians who served in four of the U.S. wars of the 20th Century: World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The limestone edifice is split into quarters, the outside of which denotes a branch of the military with bronze statues of World War I soldier, a World War II sailor, a Korean War airman, and a Vietnam War Marine. Inside, individual black granite walls are etched with the names of the more than 10,300 West Virginians who were killed those wars.

The monument and the statues are the work of Charleston native P. Joseph Mullins. His design was chosen in a competition in 1987. Although it is located on the capitol grounds, the project began as a private affair. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 22, 1990, but construction was very slow due to funding. The state stepped in to help in 1994 by appropriating a portion of the state lottery fund. The limestone and granite portions of the memorial were complete and dedicated on Veteran’s Day 1995. The statues were added one by one and were dedicated each Veteran’s Day thereafter until 1999 with the addition of the last statue, the Vietnam Marine.
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It is a lovely structure and despite its proximity to the street and several parking lots it is a peaceful spot for remembrance. I was there in October 2016 and took these photos on a lovely Sunday morning.

At one point in time, it was not uncommon for American universities to have war memorials for those students, staff, faculty, and alumni who served in and perished in wars. Case in point, this statue honoring the students of Mississippi State University (then Mississippi State College) who died in the service of their nation during WWI. The statue was a gift of the class of 1932. Fifty-five Mississippi State (then known as Mississippi A&M) students were killed in the war. It is poignant that the inscription reads only "the World War" for little did they know that within the decade a new world war would erupt. The statue stands behind Lee Hall on the Mississippi State campus. The photo was taken in May 2022. The statue is marble and the base is granite. You can read more about the campus of Mississippi State in my other blog University Grounds. Compared to many other Allied nations, the number of U.S. personnel killed in battle was small at 53,402. None the less, that is more than were lost in Korea (33,739) and Vietnam (47,434) although we suffered more losses in Vietnam when including non-battle in-theatre deaths.

The Memphis Veterans Plaza is located within the city's historic Overton Park. Located in the midtown neighborhood of Memphis, Overton is a lovely park and home to a music venue (the Levitt Shell), the Brooks Art Museum, and the now closed Memphis College of Art. Among other park features is the Memphis Veterans Plaza, a portion of the park dedicated to the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County who died in the wars of the 20th and so far in the 21st centuries. The Veterans Plaza takes up about 5 acres of land within the park. We begin with a photo of the entrance to the Plaza along with two general photos showing the layout of the area. All of the photos are from July 2022.

The most dominant structure in the Plaza is the World War I Memorial with its statue named The Doughboy. The statue was designed by St. Louis, Missouri native artist Nancy Coonsman Hahn. Although she created many statues over her career, if you are a war monument buff you may recognize her name as she designed the Missouri Memorial in Cheppy, Argonne, France. It is a memorial paid for the by the State of Missouri to commemorate the state’s fallen in WWI. The Memphis Doughboy statue was dedicated on September 21, 1926, according to local newspapers but Wikipedia has the date as 1928. It is a remarkable piece. It is also huge, and these photos do not do its size justice. The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution led the campaign to create the memorial dedicated to the 230 Shelby County men who died in the Great War as it was known at the time. The names are listed on the plaque on the front of the statue. Although it was well over 100 degrees on the day of my visit, I could feel the cold the depicted soldier would have felt charging from the trench. Again, it is a remarkable piece. The base was designed by local Memphis monument and mausoleum builder Frank Hubert Venn. The area around the statue has changed over time. It was initially surrounded by shrubs, but they were taken down at some point. For a time, two German artillery pieces captured either during or after the war stood adjacent to the Doughboy. In a bit of irony, those were removed so that they could be melted down for the war effort in 1942 (so it's possible we sent the metal back to the Germans). The latest version of the area is what is seen and was dedicated in 2001. 

Just beside the Doughboy is the World War II Memorial. Three bronze plaques list the names of Shelby County residents who died in the war. 

Directly adjacent to the WWII memorial is the Memphis Belle memorial. You've more than likely seen the movie (or at least heard of it) and know the story of the B-17 flight crew flying missions over Germany. It is a lovely piece.

The Korean War Memorial stands at the end of the plaza. It was installed in 2007. It highlights the major battles of the war by year and has some great etchings of photos in bronze. 

On the opposite side of the Doughboy from the WWII Memorial is a dual memorial to the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Each war has a panel listing the names of Shelby County residents who died in the respective war. The final panel is the Pledge of Allegiance. Adjacent to this memorial are plaques highlighting the timeline of the Plaza and its constituent memorials.

The area by the Doughboy and the Korean War Memorial is called Memory Grove, a gift of the families who lost their sons as seen in the first photo below. Several of the benches in the Plaza are dedications to Korean veterans and one is a gift of the South Korean government. Several benches were gifts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and carry the VFW initials.