Veterans Memorial Park
Veterans Memorial Park is a 5.5 acre park in Downtown Pensacola which includes a number of memorials to American armed forces personnel, including Wall South. Althought the park is owned by the City of Pensacola, it is administered by the Veterans Memorial Park Foundation, the Vietnam Veterans of Northwest Florida (VVNF) and its Wall South Foundation.
| Veterans Memorial Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Size | 5.5 acres |
| Operated by | Vietnam Veterans of Northwest Florida |
| Location | 211 East Main Street, on Pensacola Bay |
| <googlemap lat="30.413039" lon="-87.2031" zoom="17" width="288" height="250">
30.412882, -87.203164, Veterans Memorial Park </googlemap> | |
Contents
HistoryEdit
In 1987, the Moving Wall, a portable touring version of the national memorial, visited Pensacola. For the next five years, the Vietnam Veterans of Northwest Florida raised money for a permanent memorial in Pensacola. In January 1991 the VVNF reached an agreement with the City of Pensacola for use of the memorial site between Bayfront Parkway, Ninth Avenue, and Romana Street. While the land remains under city ownership, in exchange for use of the site, the VVNF agreed that its Wall South Foundation would be solely responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the park. The park is maintained thanks to fundraising and the efforts of volunteers.
The park's first memorial, the Wall South, was dedicated on October 24, 1992.
Wall SouthEdit
Wall South is modelled after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The wall commemorates the members of the American armed forces who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. Wall South is the only permanent memorial outside Washington, D.C. to list the names of all 58,217 Americans killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War.
World War I MemorialEdit
The World War I memorial was relocated to the park from Garden Street in Downtown Pensacola.
World War II MemorialEdit
Submarine Lifeguard League MemorialEdit
Korean War MemorialEdit
The Korean War Memorial was dedicated on May 26, 2007. More that 1,000 people attended the dedication ceremony. The memorial features three statues: a platoon leader, his kneeling radio operator, and a medic carrying a Korean child. Local historian John Appleyard, businessman Buzz Ritchie, and local Chapter 293 of the Korean War Veterans Association worked with John E. Pritchard and the Veterans Memorial Park Foundation to raise the $350,000 necessary to construct the memorial.
Other imagesEdit
U.S. and POW-MIA flag pavilion
"Homecoming"
World War II Memorial from the east
Looking toward Hawkshaw Lagoon
The Wall South decorated during Memorial Day Weekend 2007
