Western North Carolina Veterans Memorial, Asheville
The Western North Carolina Veterans memorial consists of a circular concrete public space on Roger McGuire Green, at the northeast corner of the Pack Square Park.
Two large slabs with a beam on top form the entryway, with three upright granite slabs on each
side.
Smaller granite blocks are
interspersed between the taller upright slabs.
At the back half of the circle are two horizontal
slabs between which a sidewalk runs to form a rear entry. The memorial's main work is a
bronze statue of a woman seated on a granite bench with letters to the “homeland” on her lap.
The sculptor Jodi Hollnagel-Jubran was inspired by her own mother and thought it fitting to
have a mother figure as the central point in the memorial to veterans, “because we all have
mothers.” The memorial also includes two bronze plaques by Jurban with busts in relief
represented each branch of the military.
Incised gold colored inscriptions appear just inside the entrance. Attached to each of the
upright slabs is a seal for the six branches of the military, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air
Force and Merchant Marines. The seal of the United States is present on both sides of the main
entrance element. Small granite blocks with bronze plaques list the projects board of directors
and donors. Although dedicated in 2009, the nonprofit group behind the project gifted the
memorial to Asheville and Buncombe during a Memorial Day ceremony in 2011 along with an
additional $140,000 to use for the monuments upkeep.
Images by Rusty Long and Richard E. Miller:
Entrance to the memorial |
Mother Homeland |
Side view 1 |
Side view 2 |
Left granite pillar with bronze plaque |
Right granite pillar with bronze plaque |
Back view of the memorial |
Far-off view of the Veterans Memorial |
Donor plaque |
Second donor plaque |
Memorial directors |
United States Seal
Exterior above entrance: WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA / VETERANS’ MEMORIAL
West center interior: 'IT IS THE VETERAN' / IT IS THE VETERAN WHO HAS GIVEN US, / AND
DEFENDED FREEDOM OF RELIGION. / IT IS THE VETERAN WHO HAS GIVEN US, / AND DEFENDED
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. / IT IS THE VETERAN WHO HAS GIVEN US, / AND DEFENDED FREEDOM
OF SPEECH. / IT IS THE VETERAN WHO HAS GIVEN US, / AND DEFENDED FREEDOM OF
ASSEMBLY. / IT IS THE VETERAN WHO HAS GIVEN US, / AND DEFENDED THE RIGHT TO VOTE. /
IT IS THE VETERAN / WHO SALUTES THE FLAG / WHO SERVES UNDER THE FLAG / WHOSE
COFFIN IS DRAPED BY THE FLAG. / THANK YOU VETERANS.
East center interior: DEDICATED TO THOSE / WHO GAVE US PEACE, / LIBERTY AND / FREEDOM
AND TO / THE VETERANS / WHO HAVE / PRESERVED IT.
Exterior rear entrance, left side: WESTERN / NORTH / CAROLINA
Exterior rear entrance, right side: VETERANS / MEMORIAL
Buncombe County and City of Asheville
November 11, 2009
35.595780 , -82.548900
View in Geobrowse
"Western North Carolina Veterans Memorial," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed February 20, 2016) Link
Sandford, Jason. “Veteran’s Memorial,” Mountain Xpress, (Asheville, NC), November 18, 2009, (accessed February 16, 2016) Link
“Memorial Day Observation Marks Transfer Of The Western North Carolina Veterans Memorial to the City and County,” Asheville City Source, http://coablog.ashevillenc.gov, June 1, 2011 (accessed February 16, 2016) Link
“WNC Veterans Memorial,” Jodi Hollnagel-Jubran, http://jodihollnageljubran.com, (accessed February 16, 2016) Link
Yes
Granite, bronze, concrete
Western North Carolina Veterans Memorial, Inc.
$450,000
About 300 people gathered on a rain-drenched 2009 Veterans Day for the memorial’s dedication. The featured speaker was western North Carolina native Brigadier General Katherine Kasun, deputy commander of the U.S. Army’s Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Ft. Bragg. U.S. Senator Richard Burr participated in the ceremony.
The sculptor for this monument, Jodi Hollnagel-Jurbran and her Palestinian-born husband Hanna, are significant contributors to the artistic and historical commemorative landscape of North Carolina. Over 30 of their works dot the landscape to include Time Capsule Sculpture and Benches in Kinston, Nooherooka Monument in Snow Hill, Monument to a Century of Flight in Kitty Hawk, and Pee Dee the Pirate at ECU in Greenville. They are both employed by the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University
The memorial is located at the intersection of College Street (U.S. 74) and Court House Plaza, on the right when traveling east on College Street. It stands on Roger McGuire Green, at the northeast corner of the Pack Square Park, next to the Buncombe County Charters of Freedom memorial. In the immediate area of the old Buncombe County Courthouse there are other notable plaques, monuments and memorials: 60th North Carolina Regiment, Revolutionary War, Spanish American and other wars, Police and Firemen who died in the line of duty, Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Colonel Robert Morgan and former Governor Samuel Ashe for whom Asheville was named. Several hundred yards to the west stands the monument to Zebulon Vance and several other small markers.
The Veterans memorial is a circular concrete public pad surrounded by seasonal plants and trees.
Annual Memorial Day service takes place at the Western North Carolina Veterans memorial.
Know anything else about this monument that isn't mentioned here? If you have additional information on
this or any other monument in our collection fill out the form at the Contact Us link in the footer. Thank you.
