Council Bluffs Veterans Plaza

Council Bluffs Veterans Plaza. . The Glory of their Spirit. When destiny demanded and country called, They in answer left our rolling hills and great river valley, and learned the arts of war. Then, on and beneath restless waves of the deep, in endless skies and across vast oceans to island shores, on broad plains and barren hillsides, in dark forests, on snow-covered mountains and in the rubble of smashed villages and cities they faced and fought, with valor and dedication, those who challenged our ideals and freedom and, in the very vortex of combat, were then greeted and embraced by Death. The soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen were not born to die in the youth of their lives- yet they did. They were not born to die deaths of violence- yet they did. By cruel and brutal circumstances of war , they gave their lives that we might live our lives and years in liberty and peace. Never should we forget their ultimate sacrifice. We now in their memory carve their names in stone, and enshrine them in our hearts. We now cast in eternal bronze, figures who in sorrow and in the long, long thoughts of youth reflect on the last measure of devotion given by those we now honor, and we join their mute and motionless yet eloquent presence in their silent meditation. Thinking not only of the passing of the departed patriots. But remembering the glory of their spirit. Richard W. Peterson