Memorial Park Has Changed Over the Years

Memorial park has seen a lot of change over the years. You might notice it with the wide expanse of running trails or a stray run-in with some furry (or scaly) friends.

This park offers a place to pause and reflect. A peaceful oasis amid the hustle and bustle of JBLE.

The History of Memorial Park

In the early 40’s local community leaders began discussing how they might honor the village’s war veterans. Plans were drawn up and a spirited fund-raising drive was launched. However, it became clear that there was a major obstacle to the project’s realization. Each of the groups involved in the fund-raising wanted control of the facility, and a deadlock ensued.

Unlike traditional cemeteries, memorial parks are designed to provide an atmosphere of natural beauty, peace for quiet meditation and a sense of dignity and honor for those who have been laid to rest. The primary design features of these gardens are flat, sculptured bronze markers lying flush on landscaped plots. Central water features, statuary and gathering spaces are also incorporated into the primary design to identify sections and create a cohesive overall aesthetic.

The Gold Star Monument is the most recent addition to Memorial Park, built in conjunction with style guidelines set by the Woody Williams Foundation and Delaware Gold Star Families. It is the only structure in Memorial Park to include a second commemorative marker directly behind it.

The Memorial Walls

Designed by architect Maya Lin, the Memorial Wall is one of the most powerful scenes on the National Mall. The two 200-foot long walls contain more than 58,000 names that are listed in chronological order by the date of casualty. The names begin and end at the center point where the two walls meet.

The Memorial Wall is flanked by a flagstaff and a bronze statue called Three Servicemen. Frederick Hart’s sculpture is intended to represent a Caucasian, African American and Hispanic soldier – the ethic groups that were most heavily represented in the war’s combat forces.

The 9/11 Memorial Museum allows visitors to experience the history of September 11 at the place where it happened. The Memorial Museum’s core exhibitions are located at the bedrock where the Twin Towers once stood, seven stories below the Memorial.

The Gold Star Monument

The Gold Star Monument recognizes, honors and serves families of our Nation’s fallen heroes who have sacrificed a loved one in defense of freedom. It is the first such memorial to be built and stands as a symbol of the ultimate price that is paid in defense of our country.

Designed by Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, the monument is a stunning black granite piece. Its back features four granite panels titled homeland, family, patriotism and sacrifice. Each community had the discretion to choose images on these panels that best reflected their unique community values for each of those themes.

The Barboursville monument’s panel labeled homeland features a picture of Marshall University, a covered bridge and a log cabin. The middle two panels, labeled “family” and “patriotism”, feature pictures of a church and a soldier raising the American flag on a battlefield. The far-right panel, titled “sacrifice” features a picture of Hershel “Woody” William’s monument in Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia.

The AIDS Memorial

At the height of the epidemic, over 100,000 New Yorkers died from AIDS. Many others were affected, including families and friends of the victims. This is a space for remembering and mourning together, as well as celebrating the lives of those who survived and the activists that continue to fight.

The Foundation selected a triangular piece of land near the former St. Vincent’s Hospital. The site was chosen because it sits at a critical crossroads of early NYC AIDS history. At the time, large gay communities existed in the West Village and Chelsea neighborhoods surrounding St. Vincent’s, where the first AIDS ward in the city (and the second in the country) opened in 1984.

A volunteer-led 501(c)(3) is formed with an 18-person Board of Directors chaired by Keith Fox. Construction of the Memorial begins, with an international design competition held and Studio a+i architects ultimately selected to design the Memorial. Jenny Holzer creates the paver installation that enlivens the Memorial with quotes from Walt Whitman’s transcendent celebration of hope, unity and human dignity. The Memorial is dedicated on December 1, World AIDS Day, 2016.

Related Posts