Memorials Honor Veterans: Past, Present, and Future
“May it remind us that our country must always be defended against forces that would deny us our freedom.”
Red River Veterans Memorial Monument, Paris, Texas
By P.A. Geddie
All over the Upper East Side of Texas communities pay tribute to veterans with statues of granite and stone, markers, plaques, flagpoles, and more in grateful appreciation for their service to America.
High schools dedicate plaques to former students killed in service, cemeteries erect monuments to fallen soldiers all the way back to the Revolutionary War, and county courthouses have scrolls of names of soldiers that once lived in their towns.
Besides the thousands of visitors throughout the year, special events take place often in these sacred locations, including for Veterans Day each November 11.
Hunt County Veterans Memorial, Greenville. Courtesy photo
Greenville
“America’s Most Decorated Soldier,” Audie Murphy, is commemorated in his hometown of Greenville with a 10-foot tall bronze statue by Gordon Thomas. Behind that are granite tablets listing the names of residents of Hunt County who gave their lives in World Wars I and II. The Hunt County War Veterans Memorial is on the grounds of the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum. Inside the museum are a Hall of Heroes and other military exhibits. Visit www.cottonmuseum.com for more information.
Hawkins
Hawkins in Wood County has Veterans Memorial Park dedicated to residents who served in the armed forces in conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War. A memorial wall lists their names. On a pole in the center of a nearby small pond is an AH-1 Cobra helicopter that served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1973.
Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial, Canton. Photo by Faith’s Photography
Canton
Van Zandt County has three veterans parks — one in Grand Saline, one in Wills Point and the largest is in Canton. The Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial Park was created with landscaping, winding sidewalks, personalized walkway bricks, and a pavilion for events, making it an inviting place for family members and other visitors to spend comforting time paying tribute to their fallen soldiers. A bronze statue of a kneeling soldier was created by artist Ed Pickett. Also on the site is a U.S. Air Force F4-D Phantom Jet, a U.S. Marine Corp UH-1E Helicopter, a U.S. Navy Ship Anchor, a U.S. Army Duece and a 1/2 transport truck, a U.S. Army 105 Howitzer, and a U.S. Coast Guard 41-foot boat.
There’s also a small museum next to the park with military artifacts. Visit www.vzcm.org to learn more about the Van Zandt County Veterans Memorial and Museum.
Paris
Paris, Texas, is home to the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial dedicated to all from a five-county area who have died as a result of their military service. The memorial garden has 12 granite-clad tablets inscribed with soldier’s names encircling a central flagpole. Each section honors the different branches of the military with flag. The Gold Star Family monument honors relatives and families who lost loved ones and a war dog monument remembers the brave working dogs and their handlers who offered key roles in military operations. A AH-1P Cobra Helicopter, and other vehicles like the M11Al Armored Personnel Carrier are on the site. A 5,983 square foot museum is being added to the complex that will include military displays, office and restroom facilities. Learn more on www.rrvvm.org.
Hopkins County Veterans Memorial. Photo by Ine Burke
Sulphur Springs
Another outstanding veterans memorial park in Northeast Texas is in Sulphur Springs. It shares the downtown grounds with the Hopkins County Courthouse, an award-winning building designed by J. Gordon Riley and built in 1894 and restored in 2003. Over the years, the park’s offerings for honoring the region’s veterans grew into a state-of-the-art complex forming the Hopkins County Veterans Memorial.
A statue of a soldier and several benches were placed on the grounds first. Then, around 2006, local engineer Don Roundtree with Tandem Consulting was consulted and he brought in TBG Partners in Dallas as the architects. The park today is a stunning display of granite walls, etched pictures, flags, 12-foot waterfalls, and even a kiosk where visitors can learn more about the veterans. An eternal flame was added at the end of the back wall. Dallas-based artist Eliseo Garcia did a sketch on the back wall of the memorial. The likeness comes from a photograph of actual soldiers getting off a troop train during World War II.
Located nearby in the Sulphur Springs Public Library, the Sinclair Collection of World War II memorabilia documents the activities of the T-Patchers—the Texas National Guard during World War II. The collection follows Buddy and Katy Sinclair through their wartime activities with photographs, letters, and documents. Buddy and his T-Patch comrades went through training and on to Anzio, Italy. Katy stayed behind and became a “Rosie the Riveter,” working in the defense industry.
Also in the library is the Leo St. Clair Music Box Collection, which takes visitors on a magical journey through the wonderful world of music boxes. One of the largest of its kind, the collection ranges from the antique and unique to the commonplace. Leo St.Clair served in the U.S. Navy during both the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean conflict. It was during his military service that his interest in music boxes began, when the Queen of Belgium presented him with a box that is still the star of the collection. The displays not only celebrate his interest in music boxes, but his service to his country and fellow man. Once owned by movie stars and soldiers, the famous and the unknown, the collection is a delightful trip for young and old, through time and imagination.
Go to www.visitsulphurspringstx.org to learn more about these sites in Sulphur Springs.
Heroes Memorial Park, Rockwall. Courtesy photo
Rockwall
Heroes Memorial Park in Rockwall is at 1120 W. Rusk Street along the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard. It is a project in partnership with the national First Help organization and City of Rockwall offering a place of reflection and remembrance for military veterans and first responders who died by suicide. Their names are etched on granite panels, standing as a lasting tribute to honor their lives and service. An imposing 23,000-pound, 8 feet high by 12.5 feet long monument was unveiled in 2024. Etched on its front are six figures, each representing veteran and first responder professions. Surrounding this centerpiece is the Wall of Service, which will eventually be 23 slanted granite blocks holding the engraved names of veterans and first responders lost to suicide — it stands as a reminder of their service and the battles they fought — both visible and unseen.
The park stands next to the Heroes Memorial Bridge, the State Highway 66 bridge between Rockwall and Rowlett, officially dedicated in 2020. This project stems from the Walk the Bridge initiative that began in 2018 with a symbolic 22-mile walk across the bridge on the 22nd of each month to raise awareness of the on-average 22 veterans and first responders across the nation who commit suicide due to Post-Traumatic Stress each day.
Learn more about the project at www.1sthelp.org.
The Rockwall County Veterans Memorial includes a 7.5 foot tall, 19-foot wide polished granite wall. Terraced grass steps lead toward a gathering of trees and a wall of polished stone inscribed with a quote from Abraham Lincoln. At the base of the wall is a set of battlefield crosses in remembrance of the soldiers who lost their lives in World War 1, World War 2, and the Vietnam War. www.rockwallcountytexas.com/653/Veterans-Memorial
Gardenhire Cemetery (also called Memorial Park Cemetery) in Rockwall is an official Texas Historic Cemetery with the remains of World War I and World War II African American veterans. It is at the corner of Spring Creek Drive and Woodpark Avenue in the Ridge Road Village subdivision and is owned and maintained by the City of Rockwall.
No. 1 British Flying Training Museum, Terrell. Courtesy photo
Terrell
The No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell celebrates a cooperation between the United States and Great Britain during World War II. More than 2,200 Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Corps cadets earned their wings in the Upper East Side of Texas between 1941 and 1945. The museum has an archive containing the most extensive record of the No. 1 British Flying Training Schools in existence. The collection includes hundreds of historical items: logbooks, training materials, WWII memorabilia, uniforms, and much more. Perhaps more importantly, the museum explores many fascinating “personal stories” behind the artifacts. These stories give an insight into the cadets’ backgrounds, their training, and the lives they led after leaving Terrell. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and for special events, including the British Bash on November 8 with the Beatles tribute band A Hard Night’s Day, British beers, cars, food, and crafts. www.bftsmuseum.org
Also in Terrell is a veterans’ memorial at Ben Gill Park, 100 Lions Club Lane. Get more information about visiting Terrell on www.discoverterrell.com.
Mid America Flight Museum, Mount Pleasant. Courtesy photo
Mount Pleasant
The Mid America Flight Museum in Mount Pleasant honors veterans, promotes aviation history, and preserves historic aircraft. Most of the airplanes in the museum fly regularly with projects that mentor kids and provide opportunities for the community. The museum is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings from April through November and for special events. Learn more on www.midamericaflightmuseum.com.
Clarksville
Clarksville is home to a memorial for veteran and Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. The J.D. Tippit War Memorial is on County Road 1280. Slain in the line of duty while on alert for President John F. Kennedy’s assassin, Tippit grew up on his family’s farm near the markers site. He served as a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division during World War II and received the Bronze Star. He joined the Dallas Police Department in 1952 and later was honored for his quick thinking and outstanding judgment. On November 22, 1963, Tippit was working a beat in central Oak Cliff when he stopped Lee Harvey Oswald for questioning. Oswald shot and killed him. He is buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park in Dallas.
There’s also a Red River County War Memorial at the intersection of North Walnut and Madison streets.
Athens
The Henderson County Veterans Memorial and Plaza is at the beautiful East Texas Arboretum in Athens. The memorial honors military veterans who enlisted in Henderson County or were natives and enlisted elsewhere. The memorial is two red brick curved walls within an open plaza with a bronze eagle sculpture overlooking the plaza. The names of veterans are engraved on granite panels embedded in the memorial walls. www.easttexasarboretum.org
Tyler
The Historic Aviation Memorial Museum is on the grounds of Tyler Pounds Regional Airport and features military aircraft, historical memorabilia, hands-on exhibits, and a real flight simulator. www.tylerhamm.org
Camp Ford Historic Park at 6500 U.S. 271 in Tyler is said to be the largest Confederate prisoner camp west of the Mississippi River. It features a kiosk, a paved trail, and information signs along the trail. www.smithcountyhistoricalsociety.org/camp-ford
Others
In several locations around the region are markers showing where prisoner of war camps were located during World War II. One in Alto is at the corner of state highways 294 and 21 at the site where about 100 German prisoners lived in tents and cut pulpwood for the East Texas Ice Storm Salvage project in 1944.
Bonham has a Spanish-American War Memorial at 101 East Sam Rayburn Drive; The American Soldier War Memorial at North Main and East 5th streets; and James E. Bragg Post No. 4852 War Memorial Flagpole and Plaque at Willow Wild Cemetery.
Commerce, Texas, is the birthplace of Major General Claire L. Chennault, and there’s a War Memorial Marker for him at 1501 Monroe Street. He was the commander of the famous “Flying Tigers” of the China-Burma-India theater in World War II.
The Pearce Museum at Navarro College in Corsicana has a number of focused collections of documents, artifacts, and photographs related directly to the American Civil War and works of art depicting the historic and modern American West. In addition, the Pearce Museum is the repository for the Navarro College Archives. www.pearcemuseum.com
Denison is home to several notable memorials and markers, including one for the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower at 609 South Lamar Avenue, the Denison Veterans Memorial at 101 East Main Street, and the Perrin Air Force Base War Memorial Marker at 436 McCullum.
The Hazel Tilton Park War Memorial in Jacksonville began with honors for area soldiers of World War I and evolved into a tribute for all Cherokee County veterans who sacrificed their lives in major conflicts.
Longview’s Gregg County Historical Museum has an extensive military collection, and there’s a “Served With Honor” War Memorial at East Methvin and North Fredonia streets. The Teague Park Veterans Memorial is located at 411 American Legion Blvd. Visit www.gregghistorical.org for more information on the museum exhibits.
Marshall’s Harrison County Museum has a Military Gallery in Memorial City Hall. Learn more on www.harrisoncountymuseum.org.
Palestine Veterans Park. Courtesy photo
The Palestine Veterans Park features commemorative bricks and a moving replica of the famous Angel of Grief statue. Originally sculpted by William Wetmore Story in 1894 for his wife Emelyn’s grave in Rome, this powerful memorial is one of only six replicas in Texas. There’s also a Palestine World War II Memorial Mural at 315 West Spring Street. www.visitpalestine.com
Texas’ oldest town is home to several veterans memorials, including the Nacogdoches War Memorial at the county courthouse and the Lest We Forget Republic of Vietnam Honor Roll Memorial at 1112 North Street.
Bowie County World War Memorial is at West 6th and Olive streets in Texarkana.
Check with city and visitor’s offices in the region to find more details on memorials and events honoring military veterans and search the County Line Magazine archives to learn more.
