Bicknell in Wayne County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Bicknell Veterans Memorial

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

1. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Center Panel

Inscription.
Center Panel
Freedom Isn't Free
by Kelly Strong
© Copyright, 1981
I watched the flag pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze; A young marine saluted it, And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform, So young, so tall, so proud; With hair cut square and eyes alert, He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought... how many men like him, Had fallen through the years? How many died on foreign soil? How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down, How many died at sea; How many foxholes were soldiers' graves, No, Freedom is not Free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night, When everything was still; I listened to the bugler play, And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times, That Taps had meant "Amen"; When a flag had draped a coffin, Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives; Of fathers, sons'and husbands, With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard, At the bottom of the sea; Of unmarked graves in Arlington, No, Freedom is not Free!

Bicknell residents killed in action
Wayne R. DeLeeuw (WWII) • W. Wayne Johnson (Vietnam)

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• Jay D. Smith (WWII)

Bicknell residents who were prisoners of war
Jay D. Smith (WWII) • Kay S. Taft (WWII)

Bicknell residents who received purple hearts
Wayne R. Deleeuw • Owen L. Jeffs • W. Wayne Johnson • Arthur H. Lee • Quincy L. Peterson • Jay D. Smith • Wayne A. Smith • Kay S. Taft

Left Panel
Army
Albrecht, Sherwood L. (Korean) • Allen, William A. (WWII) • Alvey, Stanley (Cold War) • Baker, Ben (Korean) • Baker, Byron (Korean) • Baker, Gail J. (WWII) • Baker, Martin (WWI) • Baker, Seth (Korean) • Baker, Thomas (Black Hawk) • Bogedahl, Leon (Vietnam) • Bray, Carson (Middle East) • Bray, Garland (Korean) • Bray, Larry (Grenada) • Brinkerhoff, Bliss B. (WWII) • Brinkerhoff, Emil (Vietnam) • Brinkerhoff, Frank A. (WWII) • Brinkerhoff, Levi (Black Hawk) • Brinkerhoff, Morris H. (Vietnam) • Brinkerhoff, Royal J. (WWI) • Brinkerhoff, Wayne (WWII) • Brinkerhoff, Willard A. (WWI) • Chidester, Don A. (WWII/Korean/Vietnam) • Chidester, Richard W. (Korean) • Christensen, Steve L. (Vietnam) • Christensen, Quenton W. (WWII) • Davidson, George E. (Vietnam) • Davis, Ross T. (Vietnam) • DeLeeuw,

Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Left Panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

2. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Left Panel

A. Glen (WWII) • DeLeeuw, James E. (WWII) • DeLeeuw, Max (Korean) • DeLeeuw, Wayne R. (WWII) 1 • Durfey, Alma (Black Hawk) • Ellett, Almon C. (WWI) • Ellett, Warren (Korean) • Elmer, Mark B. (Vietnam) • Fordham, Max T. (WWII) • Fordham, Seth (WWII) • Forsyth, Charles D. (WWII) • Forsyth, Charles S. (WWI) • Forsyth, Don V. (Vietnam) • Forsyth, Merrill (Korean) • Forsyth, Ward (Korean) • Giles, Henry E. (WWII) • Giles, John E. (WWII) • Heaton, Robert D. (Vietnam) • Hellstrom, C. Fred (WWII) • Hickman, Joseph B. (WWII) • Hiskey, Harold H. (Korean) • Hunt, Bardell (WWII) • Hunt, Jay M. (WWII) • Jacobs, Paul (Vietnam) • Jeffs, Owen L. (WWII/Korean) 2 • Jenson, Billy W. (Vietnam) • Johnson, Christian (Black Hawk) • Johnson, DeeLyle (Vietnam) • Johnson, Elmo (Korean) • Johnson, Englebert (WWII) • Johnson, Glen (WWI) • Johnson, John (WWII) • Johnson, W. Wayne (Vietnam) 3 • Jones, S. Otis (WWI) • Keele, Dabney (Mexican American/Black Hawk) • Keele, Frank A. (WWII) • King, Don E. (Korean) • King, Jack V. (Korean) • Larsen, Clyde B. (Korean) • Larsen, John S. (WWI) • Lay, Metz (WWII) • Lee, Arthur H. (WWII)

Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Right Panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

3. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Right Panel

4 • Lee, David A. (Korean) • Mangum, Claud D. (WWII/Korean, Vietnam) • Mangum, Joseph E. (Black Hawk) • McDonald, Elbert J. (Korean) • Meeks, William (Black Hawk) • Moosman, C.J. (Middle East) • Moosman, F. Jim (Vietnam) • Morrell, Gordon (Vietnam) • Morrell, Mack C. (Vietnam) • Morrell, Reed (Vietnam) • Morrell, Rube M. (WWII) • Pace, Richard L. (Vietnam) • Pace, Vern (WWI) • Peterson, Quincy L. (WWII) 5 • Savage, Shyrl (Korean) • Shelley, A. Otis (Korean) • Smith, Dewayne (WWII) • Smith, Jason L. (WWII) • Smith, Joseph A. (WWII) • Smith, Jorgen (Black Hawk) • Smith, Mark (Vietnam) • Smith, Ronnie W. (Vietnam) • Smith, Wayne A. (WWII) 6 • Stephenson, James R., Jr. (Vietnam) • Tappan, J. Milton, III (Vietnam) • Taylor, Elmo L. (Vietnam) • Taylor, Harold V. (WWII) • Taylor, Roscoe C. (Vietnam) • Teeples, Leland T. (Korean) • Torgerson, W. Bud (Korean) • Torgerson, Richard (Middle East) • Uptain, Johnnie (Korean) • White, Deward (WWII) • White, Urban J.(WWII) • Wright, Gary (Vietnam) • Wyllie, Stuart (WWI)

1 Killed in Action/ Buried in the Netherlands, Purple Heart. 2 Purple Heart. 3 Purple Heart/Killed

Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Center Panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

4. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Center Panel

in Action. 4 Purple Heart/Bronze Star. 5 Purple Heart. 6 Purple Heart.

Right Panel
Navy
Alden, Jeremy (WWII) • Allen, Harold D. (WWI) • Barclay, Dot H. (WWII) • Brinkerhoff, David J. (Middle East) • Brinkerhoff, George A. (Korean) • Brinkerhoff, John A. (WWII) • Crook, Ken (Vietnam) • DeLeeuw, Wayne A. (Vietnam) • Dudleston, James M. (Vietnam) • Durfey, Calvin (Korean) • Durfey, Cline (WWII) • Durfey, Orlo Y. (WWII) • Brinkerhoff, Roger L. (Middle East) • Ellett, Mont R. (WWII) • Brown, Deon E. (WWII) • Brown, Don R. (WWII) • Brown, Valoy E. (Korean) • Brown, Vanor E. (WWII) • Chidester, G. Wayne (WWII) • Chidester, John L. (Korean) • Chidester, Ross N. (WWII) • Clark, John (Vietnam) • Ellett, R. Sheldon (Korean) • Hamblin, Pier (WWII) • Hunt, Ferris (WWII) • Larsen, Lowell S. (WWII) • Mangum, Mable (WWII) • Mattingly, Shane (Middle East) • Morrell, David G. (Vietnam) • Nickeson, Thomas L. (Vietnam) • Olsen, Clifford (WWII) • Pace, Ralph Dee (WWII) • Rasmussen, Franklin M. (WWII) • Rees, Kenneth B. (WWII) • Stallman, Ted W. (Vietnam) • Taft, Mack S. (WWII) • Taylor, Arden P. (Korean) • Taylor,

Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Left Panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

5. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Left Panel

Cassell (WWII) • Taylor, R. Dunk (WWII) • Trujillo, Michael W. (Middle East) • Wheeler, Kevin (Cold War) • White, Samuel R. (WWII) • Whitlock, George C. (WWII) • Woolsey, Dewey H. (WWII) • Wyllie, Nadene P. (Korean) • Wyllie, Stanley L. (WWII/Korean)

Marines
Brinkerhoff, W. Stanley (WWII) • Brown, Alburn A. (WWI) • Brown, Cleon E. (WWII) • Chidester, Jack D. (WWII/Korean) • Fordham, Richard Taft (WWII) • Forsyth, Clark (Korean) • Gulley, Micah (Cold War) • Jones, Jared (Middle East) • Smith, Jay D. (WWII) 1

Air Force
Brinkerhoff, Earl (Korean) • Brinkerhoff, Joseph D. (Korean) • Brinkerhoff, Richard (Dick) (Korean/Vietnam) • Brinkerhoff, Vance (Vietnam) • Chidester, Bruce K. (Vietnam) • Chidester, Darwin (Korean) • Chidester, Robert L. (Korean) • Coombs, Bertha L. (WWII) • Coombs, William A. (WWII) • Davis, Albert M. (WWII) • Ekker, Glen S. (&Army) (WWII) • Garrett, Kenneth R. (WWII) • Hamlin, Billy (Vietnam) • Hamlin, Kim (Korean) • Hamlin, Ralph (Korean) • Harris, Kenneth G. (Korean) • Jackson, Ernest B. (&Army) • (WWIILee, John E. (Middle East) • Newton, Sammy N. (&Army)(WWII) • Shelley,

Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Right Panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

6. Bicknell Veterans Memorial - Reverse Right Panel

Stephen O. (Vietnam) • Stephenson, James R. (Jim)(Korean) • Taft, Kay S. (&Army) (WWII) 2 • Taylor, Don E. (&Army) (WWII) • Taylor, Douglas C. (Vietnam) • Taylor, Richard R. (Korean)

Utah National Guard
Deem, Laren (Vietnam) • Durfey, McLean (Vietnam) • Ellett, Jerry J. (Vietnam) • Ellett, Nolan (Vietnam) • Elmer, Clint (Middle East) • Rasmussen, Jay N. (Vietnam) • Rees, Larry (Vietnam) • Robinson, Val (Vietnam) • Saunders, West (Middle East) • Torgerson, Larry K. (Vietnam) • Uptain, Richard (Vietnam)

Merchant Marines
Edwards, Don R. (WWII) • Taft, Don S. (WWII)

U.S. Space Force

1 Purple Heart/Prisoner of War, Killed in Action/ Buried at Sea. 2 Purple Heart/Prisoner of War.

Reverse Center Panel
One Bicknell Mom's Heartache On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and America was at war. Meat, sugar, gas, rubber, nylon, and many other items were rationed. It seemed hard to get along without some of these things but when my sons and brother were called to go into service, rationing seemed to lose its sting. Seeing my four boys, and brother, Jay, all called to serve their country is

The front view of the Bicknell Veterans Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

7. The front view of the Bicknell Veterans Memorial

a heartbreak that cannot be explained. One must experience it to know the hurt. Jay entered the Marines, was captured as a prisoner of war, was forced to march in the Philippine Bataan Death March and was later killed on an unmarked prison boat and buried at sea. Kay joined the Air Force. He became a flight navigator. Mack joined the Navy, Don joined the Merchant Marines, and Clifford Olson, who I also raised, chose flying in the Navy. Mack's job was to supply the men overseas with necessary equipment. Always under danger while on the water and having no artillery to fight with, Mack's only weapon was to outrun their enemies. He had many narrow escapes. On Kay's 13th bombing mission over Germany, his plane was shot down by army artillery. Five of the ten men aboard were able to parachute to the ground alive but were immediately taken as prisoners. The Germans marched the prisoners for hundreds of miles as part of the "German Death Marches" forcible movements of prisoners between Nazi prison camps during the War. Many prisoners died and all were mistreated on the marches. Anyone who couldn't keep up was shot and left behind. Kay

The entrance to the Bicknell Veterans & Heritage Memorial Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, April 4, 2025

8. The entrance to the Bicknell Veterans & Heritage Memorial Park

carried his best friend, a soldier from Grand Junction, Colorado who had a broken leg, all day every day so he wouldn't be killed. Any sickness or hurt I've ever had cannot compare with the feeling inside me the day that government letter came stating, "Kay S. Taft missing over Germany while on a bombing mission." I never knew for many months whether he was alive or dead. Then one day, the letter came from the Red Cross stating," I'm alright and well." The letter came to our old PO box that only he knew the number. I knew it was from him. The end of the war liberated him.
Artie Jane Smith Taft

Reverse Left Panel
Army
Jackson, Jay W. (WWII) • Tappan, John M., Jr. (Korea) • Tappan, Milton J., III (Cold War) • Mangum, Milton (WWI) • Bullard, Ezra Nelson Sr. (Black Hawk)

Reverse Right Panel
Air Force
Moosman, George L. (Vietnam) • Shephard, Alma L. (Vietnam)

Erected 2020 by Bicknell Town.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Military.

Location. 38° 20.446′ N, 111° 33.079′ W. Memorial is in Bicknell, Utah, in Wayne County. It is at the intersection

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of West Main Street and S 400 W, on the left when traveling west on West Main Street. The marker is located at the Bicknell Veterans & Heritage Memorial Park. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 385 W Main St, Bicknell UT 84715, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Canyon Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West,

on the Colorado Plateau,

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Bicknell Town History (here, next to this marker); Major Bicknell Livelihoods (here, next to this marker); Early LDS Church Influence and A.K. Thurber (here, next to this marker); Early Roads and Wagons (here, next to this marker); Culinary and Irrigation Water (here, next to this marker); Women and Education (a few steps from this marker); Downwinders (a few steps from this marker); Raising Livestock (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bicknell.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 4, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 227 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on May 5, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.