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.
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AboutWar Memorials is a blog about monuments, statues, plaques, and other dedications to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country and the cause of freedom. ArchivesCategories |