Michael J. Barry - Moore County Disaster Memorial - Dumas, TX
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 35° 51.481 W 101° 58.376
14S E 231539 N 3972282
Memorial to a terrible refinery fire...
Waymark Code: WM130J3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
Views: 1

County of memorial: Moore County
Location of memorial: 8th St. & US 87 (Main St.) courthouse lawn, Dumas
Memorial Text:

But whether on the plains so high
On in the battle’s Van,
The fittest place where man can die
Is where he dies for Man


Dedicated to those who gave their lives in the Moore County Disaster on July 29, 1956

Ray Biles
Lewis A. Broxon
O.W. “Shine” Cleveland
Gilford Corse
Billy Joe Dunn
Claude L. Emmett
Alvin W. Freeman
Sam A. Gibson
Durwood C. Lilley
Charles W. Lummus
Oliver Milligan
Paschel Poole
James E. Rivers
M. Wayne Slagle
Wayne Thomas
Donald W. Thompson
Gayle D. Wier
Ruebert S. “Cotton” Wier
Joe W. West


This quote comes from the poem The Place to Die by Michael J. Barry, and published in the collection titled The Dublin Nation, Sept. 28, 1844. Vol. II. P. 809

Poem:

HOW little recks it where men lie,
When once the moment’s past
In which the dim and glazing eye
Has looked on earth its last,—
Whether beneath the sculptured urn   5
The coffined form shall rest,
Or in its nakedness return
Back to its mother’s breast!

Death is a common friend or foe,
As different men may hold,    10
And at his summons each must go,
The timid and the bold;
But when the spirit, free and warm,
Deserts it, as it must,
What matter where the lifeless form    15
Dissolves again to dust?

The soldier falls ’mid corses piled
Upon the battle-plain,
Where reinless war-steeds gallop wild
Above the mangled slain;    20
But though his corse be grim to see,
Hoof-trampled on the sod,
What recks it, when the spirit free
Has soared aloft to God?

The coward’s dying eyes may clos    25
Upon his downy bed,
And softest hands his limbs compose,
Or garments o’er them spread.
But ye who shun the bloody fray,
When fall the mangled brave,    30
Go—strip his coffin-lid away,
And see him in his grave!

’T were sweet, indeed, to close our eyes,
With those we cherish near,
And, wafted upwards by their sighs,    35
Soar to some calmer sphere.
But whether on the scaffold high,
Or in the battle’s van,
The fittest place where man can die
Is where he dies for man!

Address:
715 S. Dumas Ave.
Dumas, TX 79029


Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Please include the following with your submission of a visit:

1. Photograph as a proof of your visit.
2. Short narrative. Tell of your visit, share something new, edit the waymark with additional quotes found a the location, add new visiting hours or anything that would be nice to know when visiting the location.
3. Finally, please add a visit if you go to the area and you find the building, memorial, memorial or structure has been removed. Please submit an edit to the waymark adding the words {Historic/Removed} at the end. Also, edit the short description to annotate the reason it was removed for the value to other visitors.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Etched in Stone
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
WalksfarTX visited Michael J. Barry - Moore County Disaster Memorial - Dumas, TX 11/12/2021 WalksfarTX visited it