Documenting the American South

Monument Name

Jackson County Armed Forces Memorial, Sylva

Type

War Memorial

Subjects

World War I

World War II

Other Wars

Vietnam War, 1960-1975

Korean War, 1950-1953

Creator

Debra Davis, art student at Southwestern Technical College, Designer

City

Sylva

County

Jackson

Description

The Jackson County Armed Forces memorial is composed of two large panels of pink granite standing upright on a pink granite base. Each panel is several inches thick and forms a right trapezoid. The two panels meet at a right angle to each other. One is shorter than the other with its peak being the same height as the short edge of the taller trapezoid. Total height is up to eight feet. Along the left side of the shorter panel the five military coats of arms have been incised. The inscription about the memorial is carved to the right of this column. The names of Jackson County men killed in military service beginning with World War One are inscribed on the inside of the shorter panel and on the larger panel.

Images (by Natasha Smith and Rusty Long): About the monument | List of names | Designer and commissioners plaque | View of the mountains | View of the memorial with the Jackson County Confederate monument on the back | View of the memorial and the old Jackson County courthouse | Rear view

Inscription

Inscription: THIS MONUMENT / IS TO HONOR ALL / THE MEN & WOMEN / OF JACKSON COUNTY / WHO SERVED / HONORABLY IN THE / ARMED FORCES OF THE / UNITED STATES AND IN / MEMORY OF THOSE WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR / THEIR COUNTRY / THIS THE 25TH DAY OF MAY / 1986

War Dead list left column: WORLD WARS I AND II [59 names]

War Dead list right column: [I and II cont. 23 names] / KOREA [4 names] / VIET NAM [8 names] / LEBANON [1 name]

Design/Commissioner Plaque: DESIGNED BY / DEBRA DAVIS / BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS / WAYNE HOOPER / ROBERT BLANTON / VERONICA NICHOLAS / SERVICE OFFICER / PATSY WOMACK

Custodian

Jackson County

Dedication Date

May 25, 1986

Decade

1980s

Geographic Coordinates

35.373780 , -83.227640 View in Geobrowse

Supporting Sources

"Veterans’ Memorial to Be Dedicated,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), May 24, 1986

Daniel, Bobby. “Jackson County Courthouse in Sylva, North Carolina,” bobbystuff.com, (accessed July 2, 2021) Link

“Jackson County War Monument,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed July 23, 2021) Link

Public Site

Yes

Materials & Techniques

Salisbury pink granite and bronze plaque

Sponsors

Jackson County

Monument Dedication and Unveiling

The welcome speech was given by Wayne Hooper, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Retired Air Force Colonel Dean Martin was the primary speaker. Gold Star Mothers were recognized during the ceremony.

Location

The memorial stands in a grassy area just to the left corner of the old Jackson County Courthouse which now houses the public library. Nearby is a marker to the Founding of Jackson County and Time Capsule. Halfway down the impressive staircase in front of the courthouse is the Jackson County Confederate Monument. At the bottom of the staircase are the War Memorial Fountain and the Jackson County Veterans Memorial.

Landscape

The monument faces the library parking lot. To the rear it overlooks the hilly downtown of Sylva.