Great presentation in a tourist oriented town All Veterans Memorial
M-21 at Flat River Bridge
Lowell, Kent County
"Dedicated with respect to all those men and women from the Lowell area who have or will serve our country in all branches of the military in 'Police Actions' and 'Armed Interventions' - who froze in a guard shack on the 38th parallell in Korea, or at the Berlin Wall - who were rescuers at disasters, or had to be rescued themselves. Though they don't receive the recognition those who served in 'The Great Wars' receive, they also are as knights clothed in the shining armor of 'Duty, Honor, County' with lance and shield, quietly then and now, they stand on guard. 'They also serve who sit and wait.'"
"Dedicated to those men and women from the Lowell area who served their country in the Great War for civilization 'The War To End All Wars'"
"Dedicated to all those Lowell area men and women who served their country in the greatest war against tyranny and oppression the world has yet seen. May the like never happen again."
"Dedicated to all those Lowell area men and women who served their country with the United Nations in 'The Forgotten War' against communist aggresion. Though called a "Police Action', it was a war just the same."
"Dedicated to with pride to all those Lowell area men and women who answered the call to duty like their fathers and brothers before them. They served with pride in America's longest foreign war. For some of them, it's the 'War that won't go away'."
"Dedicated to all the Lowell area men and women who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Korea, Vietnam, World War II, World War I."
This is one of the few memorials in the State of Michigan that so obviously acknowledges the contribution of military personnel that didn't earn awards for valor or courage, but yet wore with pride the uniforms of their nation. Each of the granite panels is dedicated to a particular conflict and expresses a special sentiment directed to the veterans that participated in that action.
As Americans, we tend to offer our praise of the fallen with gilt edges and then a brisk 'thanks' to those that went away for a time and came back home without any apparent wounds. But for many veterans, those months and years away created an almost unbearable pain of seperation from all they cared for at home. Years later, those usually hidden emotions are sometimes uncovered - especially when a veteran visits a well planned monument such as this one at Lowell.
