"Our Boys" World War 1 Memorial - Edison Park neighborhood, Chicago, IL - Preserved Architectural Remnants and Ruins on Waymarking.com

The inscription reads:
"Erected by the Citizens of Edison Park in honor of Our Boys who served in the Army and Navy of the USA during the World War"

From the Chicago Tribune 6/25/1976 article entitled "A stem to stone look at the great statues of Chicago"
"Our Boys - a shaft taken from the old Cook County Court House and installed as a tribute to the soldiers and sailors of WWI"

From the Chicago Park District's website:
(visit link)
"The site became known as Monument Park after 1918, when residents erected a large memorial "in Honor of Our Boys Who Served In The Army and Navy of the U.S.A. During the World War." The impressive black and white granite pillar still stands, surmounted by a limestone eagle from the old Cook County Courthouse, demolished before 1911."

I was very interested to learn that this column and eagle were a remnant of the old Cook County Court House. There are other remnants of a prior court house destroyed in the Chicago Fire that I have waymarked, but this column looked different. I then discovered that the court house source of this column was the one built after the fire and eventually replaced in 1892. See (visit link) for a photo, plus the interesting story of this location being used for the Haymarket Affair trial.

From the Edison Chamber of Commerce history site:
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"Edison Park sent its young men to war in 1917, most of them serving in the same units overseas. One of them, Thomas Pope, received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and was one of the last surviving of the World War I medal winners when he died. All the names of the men who served in that war were inscribed on a plaque on the marble pillar in Monument Park. Edison Park American Legion Post 541 continues to commemorate Memorial Day and Veterans Day at the monument."

You can see the name of Medal of Honor winner Thomas A. Pope inscribed on the bronze plaque. Although he saw action for only two days in World War I, Pope received commendations from four nations as well as the highest honor his own country could bestow. He became one of 95 U.S. soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor in the war and was the last surviving one. He lived to be 89 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Learn more about his exploits at (visit link) , (visit link) , (visit link) , (visit link) , (visit link) and (visit link) .

Type: Remnant Fee: no Hours: dawn to dusk Related URL: [Web Link]

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