The Newport News Victory Arch (or simply Victory Arch) is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

, erected first in 1919 and then rebuilt in 1962. The Victory Arch was established as a memorial to those who served in the American armed forces during periods of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. It is located on 25th Street and West Avenue in downtown Newport News, near the Jessie M. Rattley Municipal Center.

Building the arch

Newport News served as a Port of Embarkation for the American armed forces during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Following the Armistice, almost half a million American troops were set to return to America via the ports of the city. Public desire to build an arch was high, mimicking the erection of similar arches elsewhere in the country. While many wished the structure to be permanent, the rate at which soldiers were already returning made this unfeasible. It was then decided to build a temporary arch, and to revisit the idea of a permanent arch at a later date. Funding was achieved through public subscription drives, and work on the arch began quickly. The original building was hollow - the framework was made of brick and wood, with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

making up the exterior. The arch was completed (mostly with volunteer labor) in April 1919. As troops returned to American soil, they were marched under the arch. Initial crowds were small, but with the help of the city's Welcome Home Committee, soon every ship full of soldiers was met by a large crowd of local citizens.

Maintenance of temporary edifice

The structure as built in 1919 was not expected to stand for more than two years — the time it would take for Newport News to see its last returning soldier. The arch ended up standing for over forty years. During that period, the City Council for Newport News ended up appropriating more money for maintenance of the arch — approximately seven thousand

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

s — than it took to build it originally. Although Newport News served as a Port of Embarkation again during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, returning troops did not march under the arch, in part because of its fragile condition. The arch also suffered from the development of the city around it. The area became subject to commercial development, so much so that at one point each side of the arch sat on the property of a different

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasolin ...

. Passersby were subject to falling stucco and dangers from the traffic pattern surrounding the arch that made it into a 50-foot tall blind spot. Parts of the structure began to collapse after rotting through.

A new, permanent structure

Calls to replace the "temporary" monument with a more permanent structure came almost immediately. Attempts at securing federal funding to construct a new arch proved unsuccessful. As a committee of veterans and volunteers began to make fund-raising plans, there was some concern from others in the community that they were attempting to replace a "dead monument," and that a park, civic center, school, or hospital would prove to be more functional and useful to the city's citizens. Despite these protests, the necessary funds were collected to complete the new arch, made of stone, and it was rededicated on May 30, 1962. On Memorial Day, 1969, an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

was donated by the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of ...

to the arch site. Standing fourteen feet high the eternal flame which sits under the arch was cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

by Womack Foundry, Inc. (of Newport News) in the 1960s, and was hand crafted by the Foundry's founder and president, Ernest D. Womack.

Eternal flame controversy

In 1973, the flame that had been established was ordered to be turned off by then-

City Manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

William Lawson. The call to extinguish the flame came during the oil shortage of that year. As one would expect, this met with severe criticism and protest, especially from veterans' groups. The solution provided by the city was to replace the flame with a flashing light, which has been described as looking "absurd". The flame remained unlit until

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 ...

, 1978. The flame was threatened again the next year, when the new City Manager, Frank Smiley, was looking for ways to cut expenses. The flame's cost (five hundred dollars per month) was seen as a potential savings. Eventually, a compromise was reached, and a new fuel line that burned less gas was installed. The bill was reduced to sixty-five dollars a month. This led Charlie Covington, the city treasurer, to remark, "Since there are 670 names on Victory Arch plaques, that works out to about one third of a penny per day per person. I'd hate like hell to come back and look down and see Smiley has cut off the flame for a third of a penny per day per person."

Building the arch

Maintenance of temporary edifice

A new, permanent structure

Eternal flame controversy

Further reading