thedrifter
07-22-04, 12:58 PM
PURPLE HEART MEMORIAL
Sacrifice etched in stone
By EBA HAMID
BILOXI - MILITARY
Two months ago, George Higginbotham of Biloxi had an idea. On Tuesday morning his idea became reality as nine shovels turned ground in preparation for a memorial for South Mississippi's Purple Heart recipients.
"This is something that should've been done a long time ago," said Higginbotham. "I waited 50 years for my Purple Heart, and I waited 60 years for this memorial."
Higginbotham, a Marine, was wounded during the invasion of Okinawa in June 1945. About 7,500 Marines died in capturing the island. That, and similar losses two months earlier at Iwo Jima, helped President Truman decide to approve dropping the atom bomb at Hiroshima. Higginbotham received his medal in 1995, applying for it only after returning to the Pacific island 50 years later.
The memorial will take 12 to 13 weeks to be completed, Don Reynolds of Reynolds Monuments in D'Iberville said.
The memorial will be approximately 11 feet tall and 31 feet long and weigh 35 tons. It will consist of one granite stone and two adjacent six-foot granite stones, which will have laser-etched photos and names of the more than 60 life members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart from Biloxi Chapter 676 and Chapter 771 in Diamondhead.
"I've been to a lot of memorials, but this is the only one I've seen with pictures," said life member Doc Edwards, who served in Vietnam. "I keep remembering all of the guys that didn't come back. That's why they call them memorials. This memorial will be here for a long time. My grandkids can come and see their grandpa."
Local artist Mary Moran said it was an honor to have been asked to design the memorial.
"A lot of people forget we lost a lot of men," Moran said. "If it wasn't for the military, we wouldn't be a free country. Sometimes you have to go to war."
More than 50 people attended Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony.
"I think it was very emotional," Moran said. "I almost cried. There was a beautiful turnout, and I'm anxious to see it set up."
Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and Sun Herald reporter Patrick Peterson also spoke at the ceremony.
"Anytime you can honor our veterans and military people with some type of monument, I think it's important," Holloway said. "These people put their lives in jeopardy when they served in foreign countries. It's only right and fitting that we honor them, and this memorial is a good way to do it."
http://www.sunherald.com/images/sunherald/sunherald/9206/84759374026.jpg
DAVID PURDY/THE SUN HERALD
Biloxi native George Higginbotham created the idea of placing a memorial to all Purple Heart recipients from South Mississippi where the public could view their names. The groundbreaking for the memorial was held on Tuesday at a small park next to the Biloxi Port Commission Building at the corner of Main Street and U.S. 90.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/9202547.htm
Ellie
Sacrifice etched in stone
By EBA HAMID
BILOXI - MILITARY
Two months ago, George Higginbotham of Biloxi had an idea. On Tuesday morning his idea became reality as nine shovels turned ground in preparation for a memorial for South Mississippi's Purple Heart recipients.
"This is something that should've been done a long time ago," said Higginbotham. "I waited 50 years for my Purple Heart, and I waited 60 years for this memorial."
Higginbotham, a Marine, was wounded during the invasion of Okinawa in June 1945. About 7,500 Marines died in capturing the island. That, and similar losses two months earlier at Iwo Jima, helped President Truman decide to approve dropping the atom bomb at Hiroshima. Higginbotham received his medal in 1995, applying for it only after returning to the Pacific island 50 years later.
The memorial will take 12 to 13 weeks to be completed, Don Reynolds of Reynolds Monuments in D'Iberville said.
The memorial will be approximately 11 feet tall and 31 feet long and weigh 35 tons. It will consist of one granite stone and two adjacent six-foot granite stones, which will have laser-etched photos and names of the more than 60 life members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart from Biloxi Chapter 676 and Chapter 771 in Diamondhead.
"I've been to a lot of memorials, but this is the only one I've seen with pictures," said life member Doc Edwards, who served in Vietnam. "I keep remembering all of the guys that didn't come back. That's why they call them memorials. This memorial will be here for a long time. My grandkids can come and see their grandpa."
Local artist Mary Moran said it was an honor to have been asked to design the memorial.
"A lot of people forget we lost a lot of men," Moran said. "If it wasn't for the military, we wouldn't be a free country. Sometimes you have to go to war."
More than 50 people attended Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony.
"I think it was very emotional," Moran said. "I almost cried. There was a beautiful turnout, and I'm anxious to see it set up."
Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and Sun Herald reporter Patrick Peterson also spoke at the ceremony.
"Anytime you can honor our veterans and military people with some type of monument, I think it's important," Holloway said. "These people put their lives in jeopardy when they served in foreign countries. It's only right and fitting that we honor them, and this memorial is a good way to do it."
http://www.sunherald.com/images/sunherald/sunherald/9206/84759374026.jpg
DAVID PURDY/THE SUN HERALD
Biloxi native George Higginbotham created the idea of placing a memorial to all Purple Heart recipients from South Mississippi where the public could view their names. The groundbreaking for the memorial was held on Tuesday at a small park next to the Biloxi Port Commission Building at the corner of Main Street and U.S. 90.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/9202547.htm
Ellie