We dedicate this quiet place to the remembrance of the veterans of Alaska who have served their country at home and throughout the world. We honor their heroism and dedication.At mile 147 of the Parks Highway at Denali State Park—centrally located between Anchorage and Fairbanks—is a plaque with those words.
AB Robert Franxman of Florence, Ky. was on a fishing trip in the area not long ago, when he came upon the beautifully designed memorial, and sent the photos appearing with this article to the Seafarers LOG.
The Alaska Veterans Memorial, the first to honor the state’s veterans, was erected in 1983 and dedicated the following year. The main part of the site consists of five, 20-foot tall concrete panels, one each to represent the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. They are arranged in a semi-circle to form an alcove in a natural grove of trees. On top of each panel is a large star and below the star is a short history of that branch’s contribution to Alaska.
At the entrance of the alcove is a statue of two figures representing the Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG), carved by Canadian sculptor George Pratt. The binoculars of one of the ATG members is trained on Denali (Mt. McKinley), which is only 35 miles away at that point. A large plaque beside the statue explains the work of the ATG.
In 1998, World War II merchant mariners were granted “active duty” veterans status, so another large plaque was added the following year to one of the walls forming the entrance to the alcove where the main panels are set. It honors members of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served in World War II and was dedicated by Governor Tony Knowles, an Army Vietnam veteran.
Also in 1999, two flagpoles were erected by a group of volunteers so that an Alaskan flag now flies to the right of an American flag, and to its left flies a POW/MIA or other flag for special events.
The Alaska Veterans Memorial was made possible by legislation introduced by the late State Senator Charles Parr in 1981 and passed that year. Parr, a World War II Army veteran from Fairbanks, recognized that Alaska was one of the few states in the nation without a memorial to its veterans.
For travelers, the memorial provides both a refreshing stop along the highway as well as an important insight into Alaska’s history. Adjacent to the memorial is a visitor’s center, where several interpretive signs describe the historical role of the military in the Bering Sea during the Civil War and World War II and throughout the Cold War.
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