The Medal of Honor Memorial is a monument located in
White River State Park
White River State Park is an urban park in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Situated along the eastern and western banks of its namesake White River, the park covers . The park is home to numerous attractions, including the Eiteljorg Museum of A ...
in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, United States. It is dedicated in honor of all recipients of the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
, the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
's highest award for valor. The memorial was unveiled May 28, 1999, during
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
weekend. The memorial is part of the
Indiana War Memorials Commission.
Design
The Memorial is located on the north bank of the
Indiana Central Canal
The Indiana Central Canal was a canal intended to connect the Wabash and Erie Canal to the Ohio River. It was funded by the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act, Indiana's attempt to take part in the canal-building craze started by the Erie Canal. ...
, adjacent to
Military Park, and consists of 27 glass panels set in concrete bases.
Indiana Limestone
Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...
in shades of buff, gray, and pink are also a part of the monument. The panels are arranged into 15 walls, each representing an armed conflict in which a
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
was awarded. The names of the recipients are etched into the glass. At the time of dedication, there were 3,436 Medal of Honor recipients etched into the monument.
The Memorial also contains an elaborate lighting system that illuminates certain panels to correspond with a 30-minute audio tour that is played over a speaker system. The audio tour is made up of stories about the wars, and accounts of living Medal recipients. Many of the stories were recorded by Medal of Honor recipients.
Origin
After reading an article in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' about a June 1998 meeting in upstate New York of the
Congressional Medal of Honor Society, John Hodowal, chairman of the Indianapolis-based
Indianapolis Power & Light (IPALCO), and his wife, Caroline, were inspired to assist in the creation of a memorial to honor these individuals whose courageous acts earned them the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military honor. The site that was chosen was the same area where Indianapolis' first recorded
Independence Day celebration was held. Additionally, the site was utilized as a military camp during the
U.S. Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...
.
Construction and dedication
Site preparation began in November 1998, and construction of the memorial began in January 1999. 96 living Medal of Honor recipients attended the unveiling and dedication of the monument on May 28, 1999, the last
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
of the millennium.
Designers and sponsor
The designers of the monument were architect landscape artists Eric Fulford and Ann Reed of ROAMworks. IPALCO Enterprises sponsored the monument.
Award
The Memorial received a 2001 Merit Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
See also
*
United States Naval Academy Cemetery#Medal of Honor recipients
*
Kentucky Medal of Honor Memorial
*
Oregon Veterans Medal of Honor Memorial
*
Texas Medal of Honor Memorial
References
{{Monuments in Indianapolis
Medal of Honor
Military monuments and memorials in the United States
Monuments and memorials in Indiana
Buildings and structures in Indianapolis
White River State Park
1999 sculptures
Cultural infrastructure completed in 1999
Glass works of art
Concrete sculptures in Indiana
Tourist attractions in Indianapolis
Limestone sculptures in Indiana
1999 establishments in Indiana