Cumberland County Korean War Memorial, Fayetteville
In the center of this 12-foot wide monument, a gray granite panel depicts a bas-relief map of the Korean Peninsula that includes locations of the major battles. This center panel is flanked on either side by polished black granite panels.
The left panel bears the insignias of all the branches of the Armed Forces and of the combat units that served. This panel also features an inscribed Korean Service Medal. The right panel memorializes 28 dead soldiers, their rank, and their respective branch of the military. The upper left quadrant of this panel features an inscribed Purple Heart. The entire tripartite structure is supported by a gray granite rectangular slab and stands 7 feet high.
Images (courtesy of Daniel N. Jourdan):
Left panel |
Center panel (map of the Korean peninsula) |
Right panel
Top center panel: KOREA / THE FORGOTTEN WAR / JUNE 25, 1950 – JULY 27, 1953 / DEDICATED TO THE MEN AND WOMEN / WHO SERVED IN THE KOREAN WAR / AND TO THOSE WHO DID NOT RETURN / HOME BUT ARE NOT FORGOTTEN /
Left panel: MAJOR U.S. COMBAT UNITS [crests of the Armed Services and of the 14 units that served]
Top row: 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION, 7TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION, 40TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 24TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 187TH AIRBORNE REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM, 25TH INFANTRY DIVISION
Bottom row: 1ST CAVALRY DIVISION, 5TH REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM, 1ST MARINE DIVISION, 45TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 1ST MARINE AIRCRAFT WING, 5TH AIR FORCE, 8TH ARMY
Right panel: CUMBERLAND COUNTY VETERANS KILLED IN ACTION DURING THE KOREAN WAR
Left column: SGT ROBERT BRYANT ARMY / PFC HENLY P. COLE, JR. ARMY / 1LT DAVID L. COOK AIR FORCE / PFC ALVA R. FISHER ARMY / CPT WILFRED S. FORD ARMY / MAJ BILLY E. FRITTS ARMY / 1LT ALBERT W. GRADY ARMY / SGT LEE D. HENRY, JR. ARMY / CPL CARLTON L. HOBSON ARMY / PVT THEODORE R. HODGES ARMY / SGT OTIS E. HUTCHISON ARMY / SGT CARL O. JERNIGAN ARMY / SFC ALFRED S. JORDAN ARMY
Right column: 2LT EDMUND J. LOLLY, III ARMY / 1LT SAMUEL A. LUTTERLOH ARMY / 1LT HENRY T. MACGILL ARMY / PFC GEORGE A. MATHEWS ARMY / CPL OLIVER W. MATTHEWS, JR. ARMY / PVT ARTIS MCLEAN ARMY / M/SGT ERVIN L. MULDOON ARMY / CPL JOHN R. SMITH ARMY / 1LT HARRY E. SUTTON ARMY / PFC EARL C. TEW MARINES / SFC HERBERT THOMPKINS ARMY / M/SGT HOWARD S. THOMPSON ARMY / SGT BOBBY D. THORNTON ARMY
From these honored Dead / We take increase devotion to / that cause which they gave the / last full measure of /devotion.
Small black rectangular base: UNITED STATES CASUALTIES / KIA'S: 33,742 [star] WOUNDED: 103,284 [star] POW'S: 7245
On slab: FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
Freedom Memorial Park
July 27, 2003
35.055760 , -78.886630
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"Cumberland County Dedicates Korean War Memorial," wral.com, (accessed June 27, 2014) Link
"Cumberland County, NC Korean War Memorial," War Memorials HQ, (accessed February 24, 2014) Link
"Freedom Memorial Park," Freedom Memorial Park, (accessed February 13, 2011) Link
"Korean War Memorials By State," koreanwar-educator.org, (accessed June 30, 2014) Link
"Korean War Memorials, State of North Carolina," Korean War Veterans Association, (accessed June 27, 2014) Link
"Korean War," freedommemorialpark.com, (accessed July 27, 2017) Link
Borden, Sidney, Steven Chickos, and Daniel Jourdan. "The Korean War: North Carolina's Commemoration of the 'Forgotten War'," uploaded February 4, 2014, YouTube, (accessed February 4, 2014) Link
Herring, Brandon. "Fayetteville Marks Memorial Day in Freedom Park," wncn.com, June 10, 2013
Newton, J.S. "Memorial Wanted," The Fayetteville Observer, (Fayetteville, NC), April 4, 2002
Rodgers, Nate. "Nearly 500 gather at Fayetteville park to remember the fallen," May 30, 2016, http://wncn.com, (accessed May 12, 2017) Link
Worthington, Don. "Korean Memorial Ceremony Sunday," The Fayetteville Observer, (Fayetteville, NC), July 26, 2003
“Freedom Memorial Park,” Waymarking.com, (accessed April 20, 2017) Link
Yes
Gray and black granite
Sergeants Major Association
35,000
The unveiling took place at 3 p.m. on the 50th anniversary of the armistice signing. The 82nd Airborne Color Guard and Band from Fort Bragg, NC participated, and an invocation was made by a Korean pastor. The guest speaker was Tom Twomey, a retired Army command sergeant major and chairman of the Korean War monument committee who spearheaded the effort to raise money for the monument. Wreaths were laid by Edmund Dubreuil and Lawrence Wilson, who were prisoners of war in Korea.
The Korean War began June 25, 1950 when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The conflict ended in an armistice signed in Panmunjom, Korea on July 27, 1953. No peace agreement has ever been signed. The Korean War is often referred to as the “Forgotten War” because historically it has been overshadowed by World War II and the Vietnam War.
The monument is located across the street from the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Freedom Memorial Park, which is on the northwest corner of the intersection of Bragg Boulevard and Hay Stree, in Fayetteville, NC. The monument is in the northeast corner of the park, facing southeast. Nearby in Freedom Memorial Park are several other monuments, including World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and an All Services Dedication.
The Korean War Memorial is surrounded by low evergreen bushes is directly accessible from the parking lot. A black granite bench faces the monument.
Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremonies have been held at Freedom Memorial Park since 2005. In November 2013, the 3rd annual Heroes Homecoming event was dedicated to the Korean War and included appearances from the stars of the television show MASH.
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