Del City, Oklahoma Patriot Park “Soldier's Cross” Battlefield Memorial

The “Soldier’s Cross” Battlefield Memorial is contained within a circular black metal fence, with an entrance gate on the east. The central feature of the Memorial is a raised bronze monument on a black granite base, atop a large, raised, tan-colored concrete block. On the block is a bronze plaque engraved: “This Memorial was officially dedicated to the Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict on November 11, 2008 at 11:11 AM.” The bronze pinnacle of the monument is an M16 rifle, muzzle down (as if imbedded in the ground), with a helmet on the butt stock, and a pair of combat boots at the base. The display symbolically represents the resting place of a fallen soldier in a combat setting. The vertical rifle simulates a grave marker, such as a cross, which would typically be part of a permanent grave site. Historically, similar displays were used to temporarily mark the locations of combat casualties on the battlefield. While the technique is still in use, the display being illustrated in this Memorial, is more commonly used in ceremonies to recognize and pay tribute to members of a military unit who have been killed in action on the battlefield. The monument is in the middle of a circular display, and set among shrubbery, floral plantings and rocks. Two black wooden silhouettes of soldiers, in combat gear with weapons, kneeling in homage to the fallen, are on either side of the monument. Also inside the enclosure are a black metal pedestal stand with a bronze plate, with the following quotation about the need to preserve the grave sites of the fallen: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance… Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of Time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.” Attributed to Civil War Major General John A. “Black Jack” Logan, US Army 1861-1865. A ground-mounted floodlight is positioned within the fence to provide night illumination. The memorial display is surrounded by concrete walkways that permit viewing from multiple angles. (Note: Del City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, with a population of some 22,008 (2014), is part of the Greater Oklahoma City (OKC) Metropolitan Area, and borders southeast OKC, Midwest City, and Tinker Air Force Base.) (Note: Patriot Park is the site of annual Veterans Day Ceremonies in which Active and Reserve Component military units and individuals, Veteran Service Organizations, civic, governmental, and fraternal organizations, local businesses, citizens, youth groups, and veterans participate. The park is a very veteran-friendly environment. In addition, it provides reserved parking for combat wounded veterans visiting the facility.) (Note: Military veterans of the Iraq conflict are awarded the Iraq Campaign Medal for service in Iraq between March 19, 2003 and December 31, 2011.) (Note: Military veterans of the Afghanistan conflict are awarded the Afghanistan Campaign Medal for service in Afghanistan between September 11, 2001 and a date to be determined.)