West Point in Lee County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

West Point Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial

Honoring Lee County Veterans

— Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II —

West Point Freedom Rock (<i>northeast side</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

1. West Point Freedom Rock (northeast side)

The Lee County Veterans Memorial is behind the Freedom Rock.

Inscription.
[northeast side]
Keokuk National Cemetery

[southwest side]
“And when he gets to Heaven,
to Saint Peter he will tell:
just another soldier reporting, Sir,
I’ve served my time in Hell.”

[southeast side]
God Bless America
Lee County

[northwest side]
Never Forget • POW • MIA

Erected 2016.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Patriots & Patriotism. In addition, it is included in the Freedom Rock Memorials series list.

Location. 40° 43.014′ N, 91° 27.159′ W. Memorial is in West Point, Iowa, in Lee County. It is at the intersection of 5th Street and Avenue D (County Road J40), on the right when traveling south on 5th Street. The Freedom Rock is co-located with the Lee County Veterans Memorial at the southeast corner of City Square Park. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: West Point IA 52656, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Southern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

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the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Replica of the Statue of Liberty (within shouting distance of this marker); Iowa Sesquicentennial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Honor of Our Nation's Bicentennial (about 300 feet away); Lincoln Presidential Campaign Flagpole (approx. 8 miles away); Steam Locomotive 2913 (approx. 9.6 miles away); The "James" Cannon (approx. 9.7 miles away); 1812 Battlefield Site (approx. 9.8 miles away); Old Fort Madison (approx. 9.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in West Point.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . .
1. Keokuk National Cemetery (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Keokuk National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Keokuk in Lee County, Iowa. Keokuk National Cemetery was created in a separate,
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

2. West Point Freedom Rock (southwest side)
donated plot of Oakland Cemetery during the American Civil War as a place to inter veterans who died in the five military hospitals in the area. By the end of the Civil War, the cemetery had the interments of over 600 Union soldiers, and 8 Confederate prisoners of war.
In 1908 when Fort Yates, North Dakota was abandoned, the remains in its post cemetery were moved to Keokuk National Cemetery. In 1948, another post cemetery, in Des Moines, Iowa, also had its remains moved to the National Cemetery.

(Submitted on January 8, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Our Hitch in Hell (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: "Our Hitch in Hell" is a ballad by American poet Frank Bernard Camp, originally published as one of 49 ballads in a 1917 collection entitled American Soldier Ballads, that went on to inspire multiple variants among American law enforcement and military, either as The Final Inspection, the Soldier's Prayer (or Poem), the Policeman's Prayer (or Poem), and variations on those titles.
In his 1949 work The Struggle for Guadalcanal, military historian Samuel Eliot Morison transcribed a Marine variant of the poem
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

3. West Point Freedom Rock (southeast side)
(possibly authored by James A. Donohue) from the epitaph on the Lunga Point Cemetery grave of Private First Class William Cameron, who had died in that battle:
And when he goes to Heaven,
To St. Peter he will tell:
Another marine reporting, Sir;
I've served my time in hell.
———
The text of the Anderson epitaph, with "one more soldier" replacing "another marine", appears prior to starting the opening level of the Medal of Honor: Frontline video game.

(Submitted on January 8, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. The Lee County Freedom Rock in West Point, Iowa (facebook). (Submitted on January 8, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
4. The Freedom Rock (facebook).

Thanking our Veterans, one painting at a time.

(Submitted on January 8, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

West Point Freedom Rock (<i>northwest side</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

4. West Point Freedom Rock (northwest side)

West Point Freedom Rock Artist image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

5. West Point Freedom Rock Artist

Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II

West Point Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 20, 2025

6. West Point Freedom Rock Veterans Memorial

The Lee County Veterans Memorial is in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 7, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 77 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 8, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.