Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Alabama Veterans Memorial

Liberty Park

Photographed By Anita Curry Nyambo, May 27, 2005

1. Alabama Veterans Memorial Marker

Inscription. Pearl Harbor
May 31, 1941
Dear Friend,

I hope all is well with you. I am doing well but due to the present state of emergency the Pacific Fleet is held in a place known as Hawaiian Territory.

Would you do me a great favor? Whenever you are in town get me some info on our class ring. I missed out on getting one due to the lack of funds. Now that I am away from everything that reminds me of the good old days I would like very much to have that ring. I would be glad to pay any price.
Thank you very much
Yours truly,
Julius

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, World II. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1988.

Location. 33° 29.762′ N, 86° 42.361′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. Marker is on Liberty Parkway. Exit Liberty Park from I-459 (toward Tuscaloosa) Turn west and look for the entrance to the Memorial. from I-65 or Hwy. 280 Exit I-459 North (toward Atlanta) Take Liberty Park exit. Turn left, cross overpass and look for entrance to the Memorial. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35223, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

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4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Highlands School (approx. 1.2 miles away); Wallace S. McElwain / Irondale Furnace Ruins (approx. 1.4 miles away); Oldest House In Shades Valley / Irondale Furnace Commissary (approx. 2 miles away); Canterbury United Methodist Church (approx. 2.9 miles away); Mountain Brook (approx. 2.9 miles away); Racial Terrorism and Criminal Justice / Lynching in Irondale (approx. 2.9 miles away); Birmingham Water Works Company (1887) / Cahaba Pumping Station (1890) (approx. 3.2 miles away); Robert Jemison, Jr. (1878-1974) / The Old Mill (1927) (approx. 3.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.

Regarding Alabama Veterans Memorial. Julius Ellsberry (1922 — December 7, 1941) was the first Alabama man to die in the Pacific during World War II. Ellsberry was born in Birmingham, Alabama and was a 1938 graduate of Industrial (later renamed Parker) High School. He was serving as a Mess Attendant First Class aboard the USS Oklahoma when it was bombed by Japanese planes in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. He and 413 other crewmen were killed aboard the battleship. He was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart...

The Birmingham World referred to Ellsberry as "the Crispus Attucks of World War II." Crispus Attucks

The Regiment of Columns of the Alabama Veterans Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Anita C. Nyambo, January 23, 2010

2. The Regiment of Columns of the Alabama Veterans Memorial

was the first American to be killed in the revolutionary war. Like Julius Ellsberry, Attucks was of African ancestry. The inscription on the column is an edited version of a letter written to his classmate and friend Dodson M. Curry. The original letter is in the archives of the Birmingham Public Library.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. A memorial to Julius Ellsberry, first Alabamian to be killed in WWII.

Additional keywords. Julius Ellsberry

Regiment of Columns with Flags Liberty Park Birmingham, AL Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Anita C, Nyambo, January 23, 2010

3. Regiment of Columns with Flags Liberty Park Birmingham, AL Marker

Envelope from the letter written by Julius Ellsberry aboard Battleship U.S.S. <i>Oklahoma</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Anita Curry Nyambo, August 3, 2009

4. Envelope from the letter written by Julius Ellsberry aboard Battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma

Map of Alabama Veterans Memorial Liberty Park Birmingham, AL image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Anita Curry Nyambo, January 30, 2010

5. Map of Alabama Veterans Memorial Liberty Park Birmingham, AL

Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2017. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,165 times since then and 35 times this year. Last updated on February 12, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 31, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.