University to commemorate Veterans Day

For the third consecutive year, Northwest Missouri State University will commemorate Veterans Day by placing wreaths at each of its military markers in tribute to the men and women who served our country.

University leaders will place the wreaths at 10:55 am, Friday, November 11.

Military markers on the Northwest campus consist of the Memorial Bell Tower, the Persian Gulf War Memorial just north of the JW Jones Student Union, the Bell of ’48, the World War I Memorial Plaza at the corner of College Park Avenue and Memorial Drive, the Roll of Honor on the third floor of the Administration Building and the Navy Room under the west grandstand of Bearcat Stadium.

Information about the military memorials is provided below. For more information, contact the University Archives at 660.562.1974 or nwarchives@nwmissouri.edu.

World War I Memorial Plaza

In 1919, the Nodaway County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution raised money for brick pillars and plaques to display the names of 46 area soldiers who died in World War I. In the 1970s, the pillars were removed during a street renovation project and later reinstalled on the Northwest campus.

The Memorial Plaza was dedicated on November 10, 2006, and lies just west of the BD Owens Library, at the corner of College Park Avenue and Memorial Drive.

Bell of ‘48

The class of 1948 gifted Northwest with a memorial bronze bell in honor of all soldiers who fought and died during World War II, especially those fallen soldiers who attended Northwest or who once lived in northwest Missouri. The Bell of ’48 is located near the Memorial Bell Tower.

Roll of Honor

A display cabinet on the Administration Building’s third floor features memorial plaques honoring service men and women from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Memorial Bell Tower

Centrally located on the Northwest campus, the open-air Memorial Bell Tower was completed in 1971 to memorialize students and faculty who served the country. In 2004, the Bell Tower underwent an extensive renovation that included structural repairs and improved handicapped accessibility.

Persian Gulf War Memorial

Donated by the class of 1991, an outdoor memorial stone lies near the sidewalk between the JW Jones Student Union and the Administration Building. During the 1990-1991 academic year, two Northwest students in the university’s ROTC program were called into active duty.

Navy V-5/V-12 Combat Information Center

From 1943 to 1945, Northwest served as a Naval Shore Station for the US Navy. The program trained deck officers and Navy pilots and changed the look of Northwest for two years as residence halls were converted to house Navy personnel, Naval officers set up temporary offices in what is now Wells Hall and Navy recruits joined the Northwest football team.

In October 2003, the Combat Information Center classroom, located under Bearcat Stadium’s west grandstand, was completed. The classroom is in remembrance of individuals who prepared for combat duty in the Navy at Northwest.