Sibley Park World War I

Sibley Park World War I. . On Flag Day in 1926, two German 105mm howitzer field guns were dedicated at this Sibley Park site as war trophies and memorials to the sacrifice made by those who served from Blue Earth County in the First World War. These artillery pieces were captured by the U.S. 1st Division at a battlefield near Soissons in France on or about July 20, 1918. , Four soldiers from Blue Earth County were in the battle in which these guns were captured and 77 officers and 1,637 enlisted men gave up their lives. , The Flag Day dedication program was jointly sponsored by the American Legion Lorentz Post 11 and Elks Lodge. A parade preceded the program from the park entrance to the flag staff where the program was held. The permanent concrete emplacements for the weapons were poured a month later by a number of Mankato dignitaries and veterans. , (Continued on other side) , , (Continued from other side). In 1942, when the drive for scrap metal went into high gear during World War II, many of Mankato’s relics were scrapped and sold for the war effort. The two World War I field guns were not spared from the scrap pile. The first gun was removed in 1942 as a kick‐off to the city’s one‐million pound scrap collection drive; the other was recycled in 1943. , The plaque and photograph mounted here serve as a reminder of the original monument that stood for those who served from Blue Earth County in World War I. , Dedicated on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month two thousand eleven by the Walter Strand Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 950 and auxiliary, with assistance from the city of Mankato and the Blue Earth County Historical Society.