[title subtitle=”WORDS and IMAGES Dwain Hebda”][/title]
Across the nation, in one hundred sixty-seven communities across all fifty states, there’s a movement afoot, a movement to bring a somber, dignified truth to parks and public spaces. The truth – that freedom is the farthest thing from being free – is carved into the face of Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments from coast to coast, each crafted from slabs of black granite and adorned with a resolute gold star.
The monuments are the vision of the United States’ last surviving World War II Marine to earn the Medal of Honor, Herschel Woody Williams, a West Virginia farm kid who distinguished himself for valor at Iwo Jima. Before entering the war, Woody was a Western Union courier who delivered news to families that their loved one had fallen in defense of freedom in far-off Europe and the Pacific.
The experience left an indelible mark on the future hero, who decades later would campaign in his home state for a monument to Gold Star Families, the term reserved for the families of fallen servicemen and women. That monument became a reality in 2013 and inspired Woody to dream bigger, of monuments across the United States reminding the populace of the price of liberty. To date, his foundation has helped eighty monuments become a reality with eighty-seven more in process.
The following snapshots tell of Arkansas’s own monuments – two completed, one unfolding – as seen through the eyes of people of different perspectives but a common commitment.
THE WIDOW
When Chelsey Swindle works in her Beebe food service company, Gold Star Meal Prep, she sees the future. When she looks out the window onto the sharp outline of jet-black granite across the street, she lets her mind drift to the past. The Gold Star widow runs her eyes across the monument’s profile and thinks of her husband Jason.
On Sept. 20, 2012, U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Swindle and his patrol were nearly back to base in Afghanistan when a rocket-propelled grenade struck their vehicle. The twenty-four-year-old father of two was the only casualty. Six years later, Chelsey joined the committee to bring a Gold Star Families Memorial to the community as a reminder of all those who paid the ultimate price.
“This was important because it honors not just the heroes but the families as well, because they have lost something so significant of themselves,” she says. “Most people don’t know what a Gold Star Family is necessarily, so it’s important for them to hear the term and relate it to something.”
The committee found tremendous support for the monument, especially from the city which not only donated $10,000 to the $44,000 project, but allowed it to be installed on city property, thereby ensuring the site would be maintained properly. The marker was dedicated in 2018.
Chelsey likes the idea that the monument will help educate future generations as well as present ones. Her frequent visits to the marker don’t erase the pain of her loss but do provide comfort.
“They say it gets easier with time, but we just celebrated the nine-year anniversary of his passing and I’m still as emotional,” she says. “When I start thinking about it, there’s some memories I have of when I found out and the process of a funeral and getting him home. It just brings it all back, as if it was yesterday.
“I would give anything, give up everything, just to have my husband here. At the same time, I’m so proud for what he did, not only for us as a family, but for his country. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for him.”
THE VETERAN
It only takes a second to recognize the pride Dwight Witcher of Conway has in his status and responsibilities as a retired U.S. Marine. The Cabot native is a past officer in the Marine Corps League – Department of Arkansas and current chairman of the Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame.
But for all that, talking about the Little Rock Gold Star Families Memorial that now stands in the western shadow of the State Capitol grounds brings a singular tone to his voice.
“This right here, this is a labor of love,” he says, his eyes sweeping over the face of the monument.
Dwight heard about the Woody Williams Foundation while attending a convention of the Marine Corps League in 2016. There, the West Virginia delegation made a presentation that included a photo of the original monument.
Upon arriving home, Dwight called the foundation and asked how he might get the ball rolling for a monument in The Natural State. The surprised person on the other end informed him the staff had just met that morning to discuss which states they wanted to recruit volunteers in, and Arkansas topped the alphabetical list.
“I said, ‘Well, let’s consider this my being recruited then,’” he says with a chuckle.
Dwight was quickly joined in the effort by fellow Marine vets John Smallwood of Cabot and Paul Garrett of Jacksonville who served as co-chairs for the monument committee. The trio crisscrossed the state multiple times selling the vision of the marker and drumming up donations, roughly $500,000 in all. That, and the heroics of their construction partner, Nabholz Construction, brought the project to reality, dedicated shiny and gleaming in September 2019.
“We spent a lot of time talking to Gold Star Families during the process of getting this built,” he says. “Their number one concern wasn’t their own loss; their number one concern was, ‘Please don’t let our loved ones be forgotten.’ Having this monument on the grounds says the people of Arkansas have recognized their sacrifice.”
THE PATRIOT
As second-generation owner of Humphrey Funeral Service in Russellville, Jim Bob Humphrey has seen, like his father Herman before him, the community’s fallen heroes and their grieving families up close.
“He and I have met trains and aircraft to receive the remains of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines as they were returned by the military to their families,” Jim Bob says. “Those events, and my father had many more than I did during World War II, are powerful experiences that stay with you.”
Jim Bob has worked in the community to serve and honor veterans through the Pope County Salute to Freedom Task Force and recently unveiled his company’s new memorial park with a dedicated section for veterans that mimics the layout of national cemeteries. Bringing a Gold Star Families monument to town is the latest way to mark military members’ and families’ sacrifice.
“A funeral can celebrate a life, but it’s a short-lived event,” he says. “A monument is a place that a family can go as a place to remember and to reflect. And in that way, it’s a place of honor.”
Jim Bob says fundraising efforts for the memorial will hit full throttle in 2022 with a goal of breaking ground late in the year and dedication in early 2023. It’s a tribute, he said, to stand for all generations.
“Symbols and monuments are everywhere around us,” he says. “We need them to remind us of what’s happened in the past, of the sacrifices that have been made that we ourselves did not have to make. If one hundred years from now, by some miracle, we’ve not fought a war, we still need the symbols of past wars to remember.
“My hope is this monument will cause people to stop and reflect on all that’s been done for us. As the prophet in the Old Testament said, ‘We are drinking from fountains we did not dig.’ We can never forget that.”
To donate to the Russellville Gold Star Families Memorial, visit humphreyfuneral.com and click on the “Salute Freedom” tab.
