20th Century Veterans' Memorial

The entrance to the 20th Century Veterans' Memorial looks interesting, perhaps it could be described as impressive.

But it is through the words and raw emotions of the veterans who stop to tour the memorial that you finally see the true heart of the memorial.

The memorial is the highlight of the little park where I spend several afternoons a week, visiting with travelers in the caboose tourist information center. It is directly across the dirt road in front of the caboose.

People from all over come and go all day into the evening hours. Some will stop at the caboose to tell of their delight in finding such a beautiful memorial tucked away in North Platte.

Others express their joy at finding memorial bricks of loved ones, while others share their pain and sorrow in finding the brick honoring a fallen comrade or relative.

Whatever emotion is released, their heartfelt message is always the same: "Thank you for building this memorial."


As tourists get out of their cars, the first thing they see is the larger-than-life sculpture "Defenders of Liberty," by North Platte artist Ted Long. The six bronze statues on either side of the walkway depict the military service of men and women during the Twentieth Century. Most of the statues are by North Platte artist, Ted Long, a Korean War veteran, North Platte. Following Long's death, Sandra L. Johnson of Cambridge made the last two or three sculptures.

A closer view of the bronze group statue, "Defenders of Liberty."

The south wall of the memorial is a remarkable brick bas-relief mural by Images in Brick of Denton, Nebraska. It measures 15 by 40 feet and represents the five major conflicts of the Twentieth Century. There are two side panels (not pictured) that honor five major ethnic groups and the women who served in the military during the Twentieth Century. It is amazing when you consider that this wall was made of separate bricks in Denton, shipped to North Platte and then built on the site.

If you are headed down Interstate 80 through Nebraska, please stop at Iron Horse Park in North Platte and walk through the memorial. When you see the thousands of names etched on "bricks" lining the walkway, you'll be so thankful for their service to our country.

(Photos are continued in the next four files)

20th Century Veterans' Memorial

The Canteen lady's basket of goodies.

This is Rae Wilson, founder of the North Platte Canteen. This is worthy of a blog post all its own so I'll just introduce her here and will tell you more about her and the canteen in another post.

20th Century Veterans' Memorial

(Continued)World War II Army Air Corps

U. S. Navy

Nebraska Army Medical Corps

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Veterans' Memorial in North Platte

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Three more of the individual sculptures at the Veterans' Memorial

Marine Corps

Coast Guard

Army

USS Nebraska Crew Celebrates NEBRASKAland Days

Above are representatives of the USS Nebraska, selected to represent the submarine's crew at NEBRASKAland Days. They visited the 20th Century Veterans' Memorial in North Platte Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, I did not have time to get their names in the order in which they are standing: Mike Fisher, commanding officer, Riverside, Calif.; John Nelson, engineer, Michigan; Bob Butterton, Chief of the Boat, Helena, Mont.; Jason Brettin, A Div., Leading Chief Petty Officer, Indiana; Mike Johnston, machinery division, Fort Worth, Texas; and, Nick Johnson, missile technician, Vancouver, Wash. USS Nebraska's home port is in Bangor, Wash.

The USS Nebraska is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named in honor of Nebraska, the 37th state. She carries Trident ballistic missiles, according to Wikipedia.

USS Nebraska shares her nickname, "Big Red," with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Each year the Big Red Sub Club invites the USS Nebraska to send its top sailors to NEBRASKAland Days, an annual 10-day statewide celebration in North Platte.

It gives them an opportunity to mingle with the community and show appreciation for their support, the sailors said.

Thursday night they were going to attend the Frontier Revue, a rolicking, original musical telling the story of Nebraska and North Platte. What the sailors don't know is that besides being introduced to the crowd, they would most likely end up on the stage as part of the cast for a dance.

Another surprise that awaited the crew this afternoon was the all-male cake-decorating contest.

"We thought we would just come in and put some frosting on a cake," one said.

Instead, they saw other competitors making "works of art."

"We had no idea what we were getting into," another said, with a chuckle.

By the way, they made their cake into a submarine. If I can, I'll try to get a picture of it to show you tomorrow.

The crew was looking forward to attending the rodeo Friday night. Several said they had never been to a rodeo.

Each year the honored guests from the USS Nebraska arrive not knowing quite what to expect, but they leave with a feeling of appreciation for Western hospitality.

One sailor summed up their feelings: "They take such good care of us it is amazing."