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The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, located at 24 Beacon Street, in Boston Common. The sculpture depicts the 54th Regiment marching down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863. The monument was unveiled on May 31, 1897.
The inscription reads:(On face of relief:)
OMNIA RELINQVITSEVARE REMPVBLICAM
Latin to English translation: “He left behind everything to save the Republic.”On pedestal under the relief, lines from James Russell Lowell’s poem “Memoriae Positum”:
“Right in the van of the red rampart’s slippery
swell with heart that beat a charge he fell
forward as fits a man: but the high soul burns
on to light men’s feet where death for noble
ends makes dying sweet.”
In 1982, the names of sixty-two African-American soldiers who gave their lives at Fort Wagner were inscribed on the base of the Shaw Memorial.
[Source: Wikipedia.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4pni54BHO1qlmscao1_1280.jpg)
The Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment is a bronze relief sculpture, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, located at 24 Beacon Street, in Boston Common. The sculpture depicts the 54th Regiment marching down Beacon Street on May 28, 1863. The monument was unveiled on May 31, 1897.
The inscription reads:
(On face of relief:)OMNIA RELINQVIT
SEVARE REMPVBLICAMLatin to English translation: “He left behind everything to save the Republic.”
On pedestal under the relief, lines from James Russell Lowell’s poem “Memoriae Positum”:“Right in the van of the red rampart’s slippery
swell with heart that beat a charge he fell
forward as fits a man: but the high soul burns
on to light men’s feet where death for noble
ends makes dying sweet.”
In 1982, the names of sixty-two African-American soldiers who gave their lives at Fort Wagner were inscribed on the base of the Shaw Memorial.
[Source: Wikipedia.]
Marines from A Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, kneel before memorials to 2nd Lt. Michael L. LiCalzi, Cpl. Steve Vahaviolos, Lance Cpl. David J. Gramessanchez and Lance Cpl. Jason K. Burnett. The four were killed in a non-battle incident May 11 and were memorialized at Camp Fallujah’s Chapel of Hope.
(Photo by Gunnery Sergeant Mark Oliva, 24 May 2006 via DVIDS.)
Army Specialist Zeferino E. Colunga. 6 AUG.
Army Private Kyle C. Gilbert. 6 AUG.
Army Staff Sergeant Brian R. Hellermann. 6 AUG.
Army Sergeant Leonard D. Simmons. 6 AUG.
Army Specialist Farao K. Letufuga. 5 AUG.
Army Staff Sergeant David L. Loyd. 5 AUG.
Army Specialist Justin W. Hebert. 1…
Army Specialist Zeferino E. Colunga. 6 AUG.
Army Private Kyle C. Gilbert. 6 AUG.
Army Staff Sergeant Brian R. Hellermann. 6 AUG.
Army Sergeant Leonard D. Simmons. 6 AUG.
Army Specialist Farao K. Letufuga. 5 AUG.
Army Staff Sergeant David L. Loyd. 5 AUG.
Army Specialist Justin W. Hebert. 1…
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian K. Van Dusen. 9 MAY.
Army Private First Class Marlin T. Rockhold. 8 MAY.
Army Private 2 Jason L. Deibler. 4 MAY.
Army Sergeant Sean C. Reynolds. 3 MAY.
Army Private First Class Jesse A. Givens. 1 MAY.
Army 1st Sergeant Joe J. Garza. 28 APR.
USAF Airman 1st…
OIF & OEF Memorials, Fort Hood, Texas.
(Story by Sentinel News Editor, Heather Graham, original publication date 27 May 2010.)
Fort Hood’s memorials to the lives lost in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are much more than the stone, bronze and granite of which they are made.
As Fort Hood will join the nation in observing Memorial Day on Monday, the post’s monuments are seeing more visitors who leave flags, photographs and mementos.
On Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember and honor the sacrifices of veterans, memorials and cemeteries host ceremonies and an influx of visitors, but the post memorial monuments are permanent displays that are always open and available.
Serving as refuges to the grieving and places to reflect about lives cut short, memorials are permanent monuments to the price of freedom. They are also hallowed places where friends and family can go to feel close to their Soldiers.
“I have memories of my husband taking me to the (4th Infantry Division) wall, pointing out the names of Soldiers he knew and then telling me about them,” LaNita Herlem, widow of Sgt. 1st Class Bryant Herlem, said. “I remember how he touched each plaque and how his voice broke just a little.”
LaNita knows that same pain her husband exhibited. He was killed April 28, 2006 in Iraq and his name joined the fallen on the wall.
“On the day of the dedication, I cannot begin to explain the pain and pride I felt at seeing his name on the 4ID memorial wall for the first time,” she said.
LaNita has a love-hate relationship with the monument.
“Some days when I needed to go on post I would drive longer routes in order to avoid driving in that area,” LaNita said. “Other days, I would find myself driving in that direction just needing to be where I feel closest to him.”
The 4th Inf. Div. memorial sits across the street from where Bryant’s unit was headquartered. Every visit to the unit headquarters and the monument held memories of meetings at Bryant’s office, family organizational days and meeting her husband’s Soldiers for LaNita. Standing at the memorial, she said she can see it all.
LaNita recently moved from Fort Hood because it became too hard to be near the physical reminders, but she made a visit to the monument.
“The day before I left, I took flowers and laid them at my husband’s plaque and said goodbye to my husband again,” she said. “The part of him that came home to me, took care of me and loves me is the man I carry in my heart, but the Soldier who stood proud in his uniform, looked out for his Soldiers and fought for his country is still there.”
For many, that sentiment is the same. Although no Soldiers are buried at the memorials, the monuments are where loved ones go to be close to their fallen heroes, friends and family members.
Capt. Rusty Morris visits the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment frequently to feel close to his friends who lost their lives in OIF 07-09.
“I go there all the time,” Morris said. “It’s my place to go and visit.”
Morris missed the funerals for his fallen brothers because he was still deployed so he stops by the monument across from III Corps to smoke cigarettes with Staff Sgt. Chad Caldwell who was killed April 30, 2008 in Mosul, Iraq.
His visits to the monument make Morris appreciate the fact that he is still here to have good and tough times.
“I stop by when I’ve had rough times with my kids and just wish they had more times with their kids,” Morris said. “It makes me appreciate my life.”
The memorial monuments evoke often unexpected emotions. More than the stone, granite and bronze of which they are made, monuments become a part of the Soldiers’ legacies.
“This memorial is a part of us, a part of our legacy,” Deb Petty, widow of Capt. Chris Petty who was killed Jan. 5, 2006 in Iraq, said. “It gives us back a part of our loved one in a tangible way.”
The 4th Inf. Div. memorial wall took her breath away the first time she saw it, six months after the monument was dedicated. It was the family’s first trip back to Fort Hood and Deb wanted the couple’s sons to see the memorial.
“I was there where he stood and took command, played with Oliver, walked hand-in-hand with me and now where a plaque and memorial with his name on it stands,” Petty said. “My mind rushed with memories and stories and images of Chris.”
Since the family does not live near Arlington National Cemetery where Chris is buried, it is important to them that there are other places to go and share in Chris’ memory, especially for his sons.
“Seeing the pride in their eyes when they see someone has left a flag, a flower or a note for their dad or for them is more than words can express,” Deb said.
Memorial monuments are tangible ways to show a Soldier is not forgotten. They are places where friends can gather and tell stories about the men and women they were and their accomplishments. After all, that is all family and friends want – to ensure their Soldier and his or her sacrifice is remembered and that the Soldier’s life is honored.
Major Allen Hahn has friends whose names are etched on both the 4th Inf. Div. memorial and the 1st Cavalry Division memorial.
Hahn visits the memorials to feel close to his friends and hopes others realize and recognize the lives represented on the walls.
“They let people know these people died for them,” he said. “They might not know their stories, but hopefully some will write down names and research their stories.”
Not everyone can travel to the gravesites of their fallen loved ones and friends, but the memorials located on post allow friends and family a place to come and pay respects, share stories and remember the Soldiers they love.
“Just knowing they are loved, supported and never forgotten is what makes us able to breathe again,” Petty said.
