Courtesy Photo | Sapper Gove at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., memorializes fallen engineers. Fort Leonard...... read more read more
By Col. Charles Samaris
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - While attending the Engineer Regimental Council of Colonels at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Nov. 2-3, I took the opportunity to visit a spot that has great symbolic and historic meaning for all Operational Engineers ... "Sapper Grove." Sapper Grove is a relatively small, but important, piece of terrain that is really a small amphitheater surrounded by a short brick wall inset with bronze plaques.
Each plaque describes the valorous acts of an engineer who earned the Medal of Honor.
Sometime in 2008, the idea surfaced to recognize those Engineers who had paid the ultimate price, and made the ultimate sacrifice, in service to the nation during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The intent was to construct a new memorial in Sapper Grove. As most of you know, getting things done is not always easy ... even if it is the right thing to do. So, designing and building this memorial became a labor of love for many dedicated soldiers and Civilians at the Army Engineer Association and the US Army Engineer School.
Finally, after much dedicated effort, AEA and USAES unveiled the Memorial Wall for Fallen Engineers during ENFORCE in April 2011. The memorial is in the form of three T-Walls, symbolic of those found across both theaters of operations. The T-Walls are made of Missouri Red Granite, symbolic of Fort Leonard Wood, Home of the Engineer Regiment. And the walls are inscribed with the names of all the Engineers that made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
According to the Army Engineer Association website, "The Army Engineer Association received generous financial support to facilitate the design, construction, and dedication of the Memorial Wall for Fallen Engineers which is located in the "Sapper Grove" at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri — home of the Army Engineer Regiment. The wall was dedicated during the 2011 ENFORCE Conference on April 6-9, in front of a large and representative crowd from across the Engineer Regiment, active and retired. Members of industry who supported the effort also were in attendance."
| Date Taken: | 12.02.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.02.2011 09:38 |
| Story ID: | 80819 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 1,114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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