Fallen Soldier Battle Cross - Del City, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 27.003 W 097° 26.121
14S E 641996 N 3924078
Located in Patriot Park, this memorial is dedicated to the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict.
Waymark Code: WMBTCN
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2011
Views: 7
This memorial is a very solemn tribute. Surrounded by a circle of wrought iron fencing and a circular walkway, this landscaped area has a central focal point consisting of a concrete base with a "Battle Cross." Two wooden silhouettes of soldiers are kneeling in prayer before it.
[Excerpt from Wikipedia]
"The Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, Battlefield Cross or Battle Cross is a symbolic replacement of a cross on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. Made up of the soldier's rifle with bayonet attached stuck into the ground, helmet on top, dog tags sometimes hanging from the rifle and the boots of the fallen soldier next to it. Its purpose is to show honor and respect for the fallen at the battle site. The practice started during the American Civil War or maybe earlier as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before they were removed.
"Today, it is an immediate means of showing respect for the fallen among the still living members of the troop. It might be seen in the field or base camp after the battle in Afghanistan or Iraq. Used less today as a means to identify the fallen but more as a private ceremony among those still living as a means to mourn, as attending the funeral is not always possible for soldiers still in the fight."
On the base of the monument is a plaque reading: "This monument was officially dedicated to the Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict on November 11, 2008."
A bronze plaque mounted on a post gives a quotation from Major General John A. "Black Jack" Logan, U.S. Army 1861-1865, which reads: "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."