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Downtown in Roanoke, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Roanoke Valley War Memorial

Dedicated Memorial Day - 1982

— "Lest You Forget" —

 
 
Roanoke Valley War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
1. Roanoke Valley War Memorial
Inscription.
Lest you forget —
We piled into assault boats bobbing high,
and charged amid the thundering roar,
meanwhile the winds and dismal rain whipped by
to watch us die
on Europe's battered bleeding shore!
We fought our way to land;
we left there in the sand
our native blood, although the sea
will drench it clean, we claim our hand
old Europe's battered, bleeding shore!

On, comrades, on! We stay behind —
the peace is yours to win.
The fight claims us, but you will find
us here for all eternity;
as though we hadn't been
the price for our posterity —
Do you remember when?

Lest you forget —
Our fight is over now, and it is won;
but we are not alive to share the goal
of glory. Only see that all your sons
recall our guns —
Before the drums have ceased to roll!
Our standards lie amuck
where last we falling struck
them waving proud. Although the next
will take it up. We claim our pluck
has written freedom's newest text —
Before the drums have ceased to roll!

On, comrades, on! We stay behind —
the peace is yours to win.
The fight claims us, but you will find
us here for all eternity;
as though we hadn't bene
the price for your posterity —
Do you remember when?
And after war deserts our kind,
Will you remember when?

— Andrι P. Fallwell

We must not forget. Pause here to remember the debt we owe to those we honor in this place and to rededicate ourselves "that these dead shall not have died in vain". Our freedoms and our way of life were brought anew by their sacrifice. Let us cherish their memory forever.
 
Erected 1982
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this page online
by War Memorial Committee; Veterans Advisory Committee.
 
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Military.
 
Location. 37° 16.234′ N, 79° 56.664′ W. Memorial is in Roanoke, Virginia. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of Church Avenue Southwest and 2nd Street Southwest, on the left when traveling west on Church Avenue Southwest. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 220 Church Ave SW, Roanoke VA 24011, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in the Mountain Region and in Southwest Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Greene Memorial Church (within shouting distance of
Roanoke Valley War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
2. Roanoke Valley War Memorial
this marker); Roanoke Milestones (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Theodore J. "Ted" Edlich, III (about 400 feet away); Oakey's (about 500 feet away); Roanoke Times (about 500 feet away); Giles Brothers Furniture Co. (about 600 feet away); Rankin Jewelers (about 600 feet away); Roanoke Life Saving and First Aid Crew (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roanoke.
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. Robert Edward Lee (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
 
Roanoke Valley War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
3. Roanoke Valley War Memorial
Roanoke Valley War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
4. Roanoke Valley War Memorial
Roanoke Valley War Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
5. Roanoke Valley War Memorial
Time capsule plaque on the grounds of the memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 24, 2021
6. Time capsule plaque on the grounds of the memorial
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 30, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 815 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 30, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
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Jul. 17, 2026