Oak Grove in Decatur in DeKalb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Curahee Oak

Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, July 28, 2026

1. The Curahee Oak Marker

Inscription. Transplanted from Curahee [sic] Mountain, Georgia March 3, 1988 to honor the memory of the officers and men of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment
1942 — 1945

(panel)
This blackjack oak and granite monument were first placed by Carl D. Beck (1925-2015), retired MSgt. U.S. Army at his home on Clairmont Road at Audubon Drive. It was a tribute to his comrades in the 501st P.I.R. of the 101st Airborne Division, in which he served with distinction in World War II. The oak came from Curahee [sic] Mountain near Toccoa, Ga. where the airborne units trained for the perilous fight to come.

It was transplanted to Frazier-Rowe Park by authority of the DeKalb County Commission in 2018 with the assistance of Trees Atlanta and The Friends of Frazier-Rowe Park — 30 years to the day from whence MSgt. Beck first planted it.

Dedicated November 11, 2021

Erected 1988 by Carl D. Beck.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1942.

Location. 33° 49.506′ N, 84° 17.325′ W. Memorial is in Decatur,

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Georgia, in DeKalb County. It is in Oak Grove. It can be reached from LaVista Road (Georgia Route 236) 0.3 miles east of Oak Grove Road, on the right when traveling west. Located in Frazier Rowe PArk. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 2886 LaVista Road, Decatur GA 30033, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Georgia’s Piedmont

and in Metro Atlanta.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep 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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Federal Left Wing to Decatur (approx. 1.9 miles away); Dodge's & Blair's Columns Separate (approx. 2.1 miles away); Site: J. Oliver Powell House Sherman's H'dq'rs (approx. 2.2 miles away); Wm. Johnston's Mill (approx. 2.2 miles away);

additional detail about the granite marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, July 28, 2026

2. additional detail about the granite marker

The Hardman Family Cemetery (approx. 2.4 miles away); Logan's 15th & Blair's 17th A.C. to Decatur (approx. 2.4 miles away); The March to Decatur (approx. 2½ miles away); Site: Blake’s Mill (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Decatur.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The 16th & 23d Corps March to Decatur (was approx. 1.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . .
1. Currahee Military Museum.

The remainder of the building was added on to house the Currahee Military Museum, which contains extensive information on the regiments who trained at Camp Toccoa in WWII. Within the Brenda J. Carlan Hall, a six stall stable where the soldiers from Company E, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, 101st Army Airborne, made famous by HBO’s television series Band of Brothers, stayed while they were stationed in Aldbourne, England, is located inside the museum. The newest exhibits focus on a 1700’s wooden beam transferred from Marmion Farms in France, the site where the first photograph of the first captured Nazi Germany Flag by the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions in France on D-Day, and horse
Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, July 28, 2026

3. marker with detail sign to the rigth in front of the oak tree and park pavillion
and rider models depicting the infamous story of Mario Patruno, Company F, 506th PIR, during D-Day in WWII. The Loden Exhibit Hall recognizes local veterans from each U.S. war, including Lt. Col. Leroy Roberts, a WWII Tuskegee Airman.

(Submitted on July 29, 2026, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

2. "Currahee Mountain" page on the Stephens County website.

A favorite attraction in Toccoa is Currahee Mountain, the last mountain of the Blue Ridge chain that rises more than 1,700 feet about sea level. According to legend, Cherokee Native Americans named the mountain Currahee quu-wa-hi, meaning “stands alone.”

During World War II, the mountain again became part of a war; the U.S. Army selected Currahee as the site for its first Parachute Infantry Training Center, Camp Toccoa.

The mountain was made famous internationally by Tom Hanks’s and Steven Spielberg’s television miniseries Band of Brothers, in which it was featured as a training site of the American Paratroopers where they ran up and down Currahee. The name of the mountain became the motto for these paratroopers including the famous mantra: “Three Miles
Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, July 28, 2026

4. looking back from the marker toward LaVista Road and the Frazier Rowe Park sign
up, Three Miles down”.

(Submitted on July 29, 2026, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2026, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2026, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia. 3, 4. submitted on July 29, 2026, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.