A Visit With Wichita Falls City Hall War Memorials

This morning a Lake Wichita Revitalization meeting had me in downtown Wichita Falls, at City Hall.

I have driven by Wichita Falls City Hall many times, always noting the statues in front of the building, and always thinking one day I must stop and get a closer look. 

And, so, today, I got a closer look.

That first monument you see is not some sort of homage to the Washington Monument. This obelisk is an homage in "MEMORY OF THE SONS OF OUR SOUTHLAND 1861-1865".

In other words, a Civil War Monument, which was erected in 1934 by Wichita Falls Chapter of United Daughters of Confederacy.

I learned that via the text at the base of the obelisk..

Moving ahead a few years from the Civil War.

A memorial monument to the Spanish American War. The engraving below the soldier says CUBA, PHILLIPINE ISLANDS, PUERTO RICO AND U.S.A.

Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico were the locations where the U.S.A. fought the Spaniards. 

This monument has the dates of the Spanish American War as being 1898-1902, when the actual war began on April 21, 1898 and ended on December 10, 1898. 

By the time 1902 arrived Teddy Roosevelt had been president of the U.S.A. since September 14, 1901, a couple years after he became a Spanish American war hero leading his Roughriders to victory in the Battle of San Juan Hill.

A statue of a Doughboy represents World War I. Not much text accompanied the Doughboy.

There is no World War II monument, that I saw. Or a Korean War monument. Or a Vietnam War monument. Or a Mexican American War monument. Or a War of 1812 monument. Or a Revolutionary War monument. Or any monument to any of the many wars that the U.S.A. has found itself in since the Vietnam War.

That would take a lot of monuments to cover all of America's wars.

At Lake Wichita, near Mount Wichita, in Lake Wichita Park, there is a well-done Vietnam War monument. This is part of what will become a Veterans Plaza, which is part of the Lake Wichita Revitalization Project, and was part of what was discussed at today's meeting at Wichita Falls City Hall.

Well, that has been my fun day, so far, and your history lesson for the day...