Tenino City Park in Thurston County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

A History of Remembrance

Photographed by Shirley A Stirling, February 28, 2026

1. A history of remembrance Marker

Inscription.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them."
4th stanza from the poem. "For the Fallen," by Laurence Binyon, 1914

During and after WWII, small towns across America found ways to honor and remember their veterans. In the spring of 1944, a Memorial Tablet was proposed and planned for Tenino. It was funded by local civic groups in part through a series of community fundraising events. Local businesses donated building materials for the 15' x 8' sign with 245 names hand-painted on its surface. The Memorial was dedicated in September 1944 on what was known at the time as the town plaza on Sussex Avenue at Ritter Street. Though it stood for several years, all that remains is the sandstone letter sculpture (see photo right) which you can see in front of Tenino's City Hall today.

The Honor Roll memorial came down decades before the VFW began a campaign to replace it. In 2018, a different memorial was dedicated near the park entrance to honor those who gave their lives from WWI through the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The City of Tenino partnered with the VFW and its community members as in the past to honor it's veterans.

1942 Service Flags honoring 63 local men Thurston County Independent published a "Roll of Honor" with stories and photos.
1943 Service Flag with 2 gold and 158 blue stars made and displayed in Tenino City Building.
Spring 1944 Tenino Memorial WWII Honor Roll Tablet was proposed by local civic groups to be placed on town plaza,

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this page online

on Sussex Avenue/Ritter Street.
September 1944 Tenino Honor Roll Tablet erected with the names of 242 men and 3 women veterans of WWII.
1945-50 Local civic groups with community support developed the quarry site into the War Memorial Swimming Pool still in use today, including bath houses, landscaping and other amenities.
2018 Dedication of the new memorial to those killed in action in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan and Iraq.

Names from the tablet in the photo
Tenino Honor Roll
Tenino and Vicinity
Aarde, Richard Jr. • Abeta, Arthur • Aldrich, Herbert • Aldrich, Roy • Anderson, Wilbur • Andrews, Glenn • Axtell, Glenn • Bailey, Burdette • Barclay, Gordon • Barclay, Eldon • Bell, Eugene • Benedict, Robert • Benedict, Ray • Berg, George • Blair, Arthur • Blair, Junior • Bluhm, George • Boettcher, Arthur • Bonville, Frank • Bonville, Jerry • Bowen, Egbert • Boyce, Charles • Brainard, Robert • Brink, Floyd • Brown, Enoch • Brumfield, Carl • Brumfield, Merritt • Bucklew, Riley • Bush, Wilbur • Butler, P.F. • Butler, Robert • Campbell, Bryce • Campbell, John • Canady, Elmer • Cantrell, Roy • Case, Gerald • Case, John • Case, Richard • Case, Robert • Case, Wilbur • Cavin, Harold • Chatwood, Harrison • Cloran, Gilbert • Cobb, Marvin • Cobb, Philip • Colvin, Fred • Cone, Kenneth • Crane, Leslie • Crimmins, Delmar • Crimmins, Loren • Cruise, Floyd • Cummings, Orange • Curtis, Herman • Davis, Don • Davis, Hyron • Davis, Joseph Jr. • Davis, Kenneth • Davis, William • Davis, Woodrow • De Graw, Almon • De Graw, Milton • De Laurier, Kenneth • De Sordi,

Marker IN THE PARK image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shirley A Stirling, February 28, 2026

2. Marker IN THE PARK

Pete • Degner, Alvin • Dewey, Daniel • Dewey, James • Diesburg, Siebert • Doyle, John • Drake, Cecil • Edwards, Joseph • Edwards, Roger • Emmons, Donald • Englund, Wm. • Erwick, Pete • Etter, Frank • Evens, Jack • Farley, Francis • Farrell, Edward • Flory, Fred • Flynn, Kenneth • Frare, Angelo • Fuller, Chester • Furlong, Myron • Furness, Clifford • Furness, Orion • Galkowski, Joseph • Gilbert, George • Gill, Mose • Gilmore, Glen • Gilmore, Theodore • Goldsby, Elmer • Goldsby, Merle • Granacki, Edwin • Granacki, Frank • Granacki, Zigmund • Harris, James • Hickey, William • Hill, Wilbur • Hills, Harold • Holmes, Gerald • Hubbard, Oliver • Hussey, Richard • Imler, Harold • Inmon, Ned • Isom, Alvia • Iverson, Charlotte • Iverson, Marguerite • Jacobs, Charles • Jenkins, Grant • Johnson, Arthur • Johnson, Clifford • Johnson, Edgar • Johnson, Kenneth • Johnson, Lloyd • Kasola, Oscar • Keithahn, Chas. • Keithahn, Theodore • Keithahn, Theo'Ja • Kelsey, Floyd • Kitchen, George • Larson, John W. • Lee, Frank • Lewis, Kenneth • Lindenau, David • Lindenau, Howard • Longinaker, Wayne • Longinaker, Wm. • Mandery, Earl • Mandery, Harold • Marrom, William • Matthews, Elmer • Matthews, Lloyd • Matthews, Robert • May, Kenneth • Melton, Frank • Meneghetti, Edward • Meneghetti, Eugene • Meneghetti, Roger • Milliern, Robert • Miller, Floyd • Minnard, Eulis • Moats, Richard • Moran, George • Morrill, Lawrence • Morris, Arnold • Morris, Everett • Moser, Dix • Myers, Thomas • Myers, Voy • Nelson, Clarence • Nelson, Kenneth • Neumier, Earl • Neumier, Russell

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• Neunier, Leslie • Newell, Gordon • Nichols, Gudger • Nichols, Wade • Northrop, Robert • Noski, Felix • Noski, Victor • O'Bannon, James • Onn, Clyde W. • Otremba, Elmer • Otremba, Ruben • Patrick, Paul • Patterson, James • Pendras, Conrad • Pendras, Ted • Pendarvis, Geo. • Pendarvis, Glenn • Pendarvis, Ralph • Pete, Michael • Peterson, Donald • Peterson, Frank • Phelps, Robert • Phipps, Dwane • Phillips, Alton • Phillips, Dale • Porter, Joseph • Pratt, Benjamin • Pratt, Lorraine • Pratt, Wilbur • Prenzlau, Frank • Quinn, Robert • Rambo, Chester • Ramsey, Melvin • Reineke, George • Reineke, Ralph • Richardson, Robert • Ritter, Verl • Roberts, Ronald • Robertson, Cole • Robinson, Clayton • Robinson, Hobart Jr. • Runyon, Gerald • Rush, Carol • Sampson, Vernon • Sanford, James • Sanford, William • Scheel, David • Scheel, Donald • Scheel, Lawrence • Scheel, Richard • Schwalbe, Harry W. • Scott, Frank • Sharkey, Harry • Sharkey, Richard • Sites, Franklin • Sleeman, Morris • Smiley, Herbert • Somerville, Orland • Sorrell, Clyde • Sorrell, Lloyd • Steele, Ralph • Steinlicht, Ernest • Steinlicht, Lyle • Steinlicht, Roy • Stevens, Rolland • Stevens, William • Street, Claud • Strellnauer, Robert • Stryker, Jack • Swain, Donald • Swain, George • Teeters, Lawrence • Thomas, Russell • Thompson, Arthur • Tucker, Edmund • Tyrrell, Earl • Van Buskirk, Geo. • Van Quaethem, Leo • Wagner, Clifford • Wahl, Otis • Waldrick, Harley • Webber, Vaughn • Wells, Donald • Wells, Richard • Whalin, Raymond • Wherrett, Howard • Whitley, Jack • Wichman, John VI • Williams, Vernon • Wilson, Clarence • Wilson, Floyd • Wilson, Ha • Wilson, Wo • York, Joseph • Zumwalt, Rich

[caption] 8' x 15 Tenino Honor Roll Tablet erected September 23rd, 1944 on the Plaza, with 245 names from WWII. Photo courtesy of Tenino Museum, No. 111.
[caption] Granite carved memorial to Gold Star veterans dedicated in 2018 Carving of the memorial stones and sandstone wall images by Lenkerbrook Stoneworks, LLC. 2018

Erected by City of Tenino and Thurston County.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1942.

Location. 46° 51.31′ N, 122° 51.173′ W. Memorial is in Tenino, Washington, in Thurston County. It is in Tenino City Park. It is at the intersection of West Park Avenue and Howard St SE, on the right when traveling east on West Park Avenue. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 319 W Park Ave, Tenino WA 98589, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in the Puget Sound Region

and in Greater Seattle.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lest We Forget (a few steps from this marker); The Tenino Stone Company Quarry House (a few steps from this marker); Honor Roll (within shouting distance of this marker); From Quarry to Public Pool (within shouting distance of this marker); Great Northern Railway: Caboose Restoration (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tenino City Hall History (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Oregon Trail (approx. ¼ mile away); Oregon Trail 1844 (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tenino.

More about this memorial. A photo on the marker lists the names of fallen service members.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 5, 2026, by Shirley A Stirling of Lacey, Washington. This page has been viewed 55 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 5, 2026, by Shirley A Stirling of Lacey, Washington. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.