Post by BereniceUK on Apr 16, 2017 18:17:55 GMT
archive.delawareonline.com/article/20080715/NEWS12/807150359/Monument-black-Medal-Honor-recipients-often-overlooked
To U.S. Air Force retiree Ken Robertson of Dover, no monument in Delaware is more moving -- or less recognized.
"People just don't know it's there," he said.
The monument stands near the corner of Wilmington's 18th Street and Baynard Boulevard in Brandywine Park -- in view of the more prominent Vietnam Veterans Memorial nearby.
Said to be the country's only monument of its kind, it is the African American Medal of Honor Recipients Memorial. The medal is the nation's highest award to members of the armed forces for conspicuous gallantry during conflict with enemies, at risk of life and beyond the call of duty.
First awarded during the Civil War and made permanent in 1863, the medal awarded by Congress has been given nearly 3,500 times. Fewer than 100 of the recipients are black.
"None are from Delaware," said Paul L. Cathell Jr., president of the Delaware Medal of Honor Historical Association, which honors the state's 14 recipients. "It's a national monument."
But why here? Because of Wilson K. Smith, a Wilmington native, who was a decorated and disabled Vietnam veteran.
"He questioned why more African-Americans weren't recognized," Cathell said, "then he got involved with the medal."
Smith, who formed a group to support the effort, invested decades in the project, which endured controversy over its site.
"He was a fireball," Cathell said.
Earning support of city leaders, the state, its congressional delegation, Delaware lawmakers and others, the monument was dedicated Nov. 14, 1998. A plaque at the site, where radiating brick walks installed by the city bear Smith's name, praises his "unfailing dedication in conceiving, designing and working tirelessly for the creation of this monument ... with the humble appreciation of a grateful city."
Smith -- who died in 2001 at age 61 -- also is credited with convincing the U.S. government to put up a permanent display in the Pentagon, opening in 1997 to honor the nation's black war heroes.
Growing recognition has sparked creation of many Medal of Honor monuments nationwide, said Doug Sterner of the Home of Heroes "virtual museum" Web site sponsored by the Legion of Valor of the United States of America. There are national monuments for all medalists, while some honor those of a state or area, he said, but "specifically for African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor ... as far as I know, Delaware's is the only one."
Robertson, who recently urged Delaware Backstory to highlight its story, said the monument and its war-by-war stories of recipients' heroism "brought tears to my eyes."
"I just wish," he added, "that more people knew it was there."
Sterner agrees. "Obviously," he said, "it's something that needs to be promoted more."
(from delawareonline.com and written by Robin Brown)
To U.S. Air Force retiree Ken Robertson of Dover, no monument in Delaware is more moving -- or less recognized.
"People just don't know it's there," he said.
The monument stands near the corner of Wilmington's 18th Street and Baynard Boulevard in Brandywine Park -- in view of the more prominent Vietnam Veterans Memorial nearby.
Said to be the country's only monument of its kind, it is the African American Medal of Honor Recipients Memorial. The medal is the nation's highest award to members of the armed forces for conspicuous gallantry during conflict with enemies, at risk of life and beyond the call of duty.
First awarded during the Civil War and made permanent in 1863, the medal awarded by Congress has been given nearly 3,500 times. Fewer than 100 of the recipients are black.
"None are from Delaware," said Paul L. Cathell Jr., president of the Delaware Medal of Honor Historical Association, which honors the state's 14 recipients. "It's a national monument."
But why here? Because of Wilson K. Smith, a Wilmington native, who was a decorated and disabled Vietnam veteran.
"He questioned why more African-Americans weren't recognized," Cathell said, "then he got involved with the medal."
Smith, who formed a group to support the effort, invested decades in the project, which endured controversy over its site.
"He was a fireball," Cathell said.
Earning support of city leaders, the state, its congressional delegation, Delaware lawmakers and others, the monument was dedicated Nov. 14, 1998. A plaque at the site, where radiating brick walks installed by the city bear Smith's name, praises his "unfailing dedication in conceiving, designing and working tirelessly for the creation of this monument ... with the humble appreciation of a grateful city."
Smith -- who died in 2001 at age 61 -- also is credited with convincing the U.S. government to put up a permanent display in the Pentagon, opening in 1997 to honor the nation's black war heroes.
Growing recognition has sparked creation of many Medal of Honor monuments nationwide, said Doug Sterner of the Home of Heroes "virtual museum" Web site sponsored by the Legion of Valor of the United States of America. There are national monuments for all medalists, while some honor those of a state or area, he said, but "specifically for African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor ... as far as I know, Delaware's is the only one."
Robertson, who recently urged Delaware Backstory to highlight its story, said the monument and its war-by-war stories of recipients' heroism "brought tears to my eyes."
"I just wish," he added, "that more people knew it was there."
Sterner agrees. "Obviously," he said, "it's something that needs to be promoted more."
(from delawareonline.com and written by Robin Brown)