WAKEENEY – A memorial to the men at Iwo Jima was created by a local WaKeeney businessman and stood on his private property for years. When the property sold, the new owner asked that the memorial be relocated.

The City of WaKeeney disassembled the memorial and had been storing the pieces. WaKeeney Travel and Tourism began working with an engineer to draw plans for a new memorial using the large metal cut outs that had been salvaged and stored from the original.

A Hansen grant paid much of the cost to refurbish the memorial and install it in its new home in Eisenhower Park, where it is near a retired Navy F-14 fighter jet.

Many local people had inquired about where the pieces were and when they would be resurrected. They were pleased to attend a full re-dedication ceremony on Veteran’s Day 2024.