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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Cleveland County Korean and Vietnam Wars Memorial, Shelby. Photo by Rusty Long

  • Monument Name

    Cleveland County Korean and Vietnam Wars Memorial, Shelby

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Vietnam War, 1960-1975

    Korean War, 1950-1953

  • City

    Shelby

  • County

    Cleveland

  • Description

    The memorial is an archtop granite tablestone on a single base with a large bronze plaque filling most of the front face. In relief above the inscription is an attractive stylized eagle with spread wings and a single star between its legs.

    Images: Plaque

  • Inscription

    IN HONOR OF THE MEN WHO SERVED FROM CLEVELAND COUNTY / AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY, FOR A GRATEFUL PEOPLE, / OF THESE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE KOREAN AND VIETNAM WARS. / IN MEMORIAM / KOREA /
    [Left Column] CLAUDE ALLEN / ELMER G. ALLEN / ARTHUR BERRY, JR. / WILFORD G. GODFREY / RUFUS HUFFSTICKLER / DAN P. LAIL / HARVEY LAWSON /
    [Right Column] MILES E. MCCRAW / THOMAS H. MCKINLEY / STACY A. MULLINAX / BILLY OWEN / VERNON D. STALLINGS / LOGAN C. WEATHERS / RALPH WHETSTINE

    VIETNAM /
    [Left Column] DONNIE WRAY ANDERSON / JAMES HAROLD BRITTAIN / CHRISTOPHER EUGENE BROOKS / JERRY DONALD CARTER / ROY BENJAMIN COCHRAN / ROLAND CLEMON CROSBY / ROBERT LARRY DELLINGER / ERNEST FRANKLIN ELDERS / LARRY WAYNE ELLIS / CHARLIE MELVIN ELLISON / MICHAEL ALLEN GRAHAM / DONALD RALPH HAMRICK /
    [Right Column] JAMES HOPPER, JR. / WAYNE ROGER HOYLE / DUDLEY CARROL HUGHES / JOE LEWIS LOCKHART MCGILL / JIMMY KEITH MORRISON / RONALD ERNEST MULLINAX / JAMES CLIFFORD PEARSON / GREGORY WAYNE THOMAS / MCCLURE THACKERSON / HAROLD HUGH WELCH

    MAY LIBERTY, FREEDOM, AND JUSTICE FOREVER / BE THE GUIDE OF OUR PEOPLE. / DEDICATED BY THE / CLEVELAND COUNTY VETERANS COUNCIL

  • Custodian

    Cleveland County, Earl Scruggs Center

  • Dedication Date

    Circa 1985

  • Decade

    1980s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.291790 , -81.539500 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      “Cleveland County Korean and Vietnam War Memorial," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed November 26, 2016) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze, granite

  • Sponsors

    Cleveland County Veterans Council

  • Location

    The monument stands on the W. Marion Street side of the Old Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, NC. The old courthouse now houses the Earl Scruggs Center which is an interpretive center on the life of the legendary banjo master and the historical and cultural traditions of the region. The Confederate Monument is on the S. Lafayette Side of the building and the Worl War II memorial on the West Warren Street. The Cleveland County World War I Plaque is mounted on the exterior wall (S. Lafayette Street side) of the courthouse building.

  • Landscape

    The memorial stands on a paved walkway under shady mature trees.

  • Post Dedication Use

    The Cleveland County Veteran Advisory Council hosts an annual Veterans Day Program at the historic court square in Shelby.

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