Taylor County Veterans’ Memorial Plaza

A wall on the north side of the courthouse has memorialized Taylor County’s war casualties for thirty years, but in 1995, a plan to enhance the memorial began to take shape. With the work of many and the contributions of even more, that plan blossomed to a strikingly beautiful and eminently meaningful memorial not only to those who were killed in action but to all who have served to preserve the freedoms symbolized by the courthouse.

The 14-foot bronze sculpture of a soldier dressed in fatigues and armed with weapons of various wars will soon stand under the protection of a 22-foot stainless steel eagle. Around the statues created by local artist Terry Gilbreath are more private tributes to veterans, living and dead, whose names and service information are engraved in brick pavers.

If you would like to locate a particular brick, an index is provided here.  The index is divided into four sections representing the first letter of the persons last name.  A thru D, E thru J, K thru R and S thru Z. Links are provided below.  In the first column of the index is the Section. "C" is the center section by the statue. "E" is the section to the left, in the photo, by the flagpole.  The second column is the row which starts with number 1 in both sections.  The first row is nearest the courthouse.   The third column is the brick number beginning to the left.  Simple go to the correct section, count down the number of rows and then count left to right the number of bricks.

The Veterans’ Memorial Plaza was dedicated on Veterans Day, 2000, and the statue added in a ceremony Memorial Day, 2001. Many people contributed to the tribute and information is being prepared to list them all on this page.  Please check back.