Gladbrook in Tama County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Gladbrook Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial
Tama County
— -Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II- —
Honor our Veterans
[A procession of soldiers from the Civil War to the present day.]
(North Side)
Meskwaki Code Talkers
[A Meskwaki Code Talker Unit Crest and picture of Meskwaki Code Talkers in the field.]
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil • War, World I • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Freedom Rock Memorials series list.
Location. 42° 10.896′ N, 92° 42.386′ W. Marker is in Gladbrook, Iowa, in Tama County. Memorial is on Grand Street, 0.1 miles north of West 8th Street. Located in Veterans Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 705 Grand St, Gladbrook IA 50635, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Tama County Iowa Veterans Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Conrad Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial (approx. 9.1 miles away).
More about this memorial. The road facing side of this rock features a kind of step back through history starting with a current soldier and fading back to the civil war. The eagle to the side is clasping a ribbon that reads " Honor Our Veterans" with a Gold Star to symbolize those who've made the ultimate sacrifice.
On the opposite side features a thank you to the Meskwaki Code talkers. Meskwaki men were trained to use their native language to provide secure battlefield communication during WWII. I painted a large bust of a Code Talker and used an old newspaper picture to create the bottom picture of the Meskwaki men training in elements of walkie-talkie radio and machine gunning before being sent to war, eventually being assigned to missions in Algeria, Tunisia and Italy. I also included the The Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa logo and the 168th Iowa Infantry logo, the company they integrated with. In 2013, they were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The Code Talkers never received much recognition for their sacrifices, as the codes remained classified until 1968.
Also see . . . Memorial Dedication article. (Submitted on February 27, 2021, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 27, 2021, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. This page has been viewed 348 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 27, 2021, by Ruth VanSteenwyk of Aberdeen, South Dakota. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.