On Sunday, June 30, 1947, a dedication ceremony was sponsored by the Joplin Army Mothers and Wives Club. The day was set aside to commemorate the Joplin servicemen and women who lost their lives during World War II. The dedication took place on the grounds of Memorial Hall.
In the 1920s, a group of gentlemen from the Joplin American Legion campaigned for a new convention hall to memorialize the soldiers who perished during war. They were successful persuaders as a 4,100-seat auditorium with a stage and balcony was dedicated during the fall of 1925. Aptly named Memorial Hall, the $250,000 building would be a permanent monument to Joplin’s war dead.
In 1946, the Joplin City Council selected a 50-foot square plot of lawn on the east side of Memorial Hall to place the permanent monument. The World War II memorial was the first monument that was located outside the building. Inside the building’s vestibule are six polished marble tablets which contain the names of Spanish American War and World War I soldiers who died during the two conflicts.
Unfortunately, in time, the grounds would contain additional memorials to honor soldiers who died from later wars. A few decades later, the men who lost their lives in the Korean and Vietnam wars were honored on the west side of the building. Their monument’s inscription reads, “In Memory of Our Heroic Combat Dead of the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts.”
The contract to construct the $10,000 WWII memorial was awarded in December of 1946. A fund-raising campaign had begun earlier in the year. Leading the campaign was the Joplin Army Mothers and Wives Club. A committee was formed by the club made up of Mrs. Walter (Hazel) Branch, Mrs. John (Mabel) L. Martin, Mrs. Clyde (Nina) Cobb, and Mrs. Ira (Elizabeth) Gardner. Club President Hazel Branch was the chairman of the drive.
The 18-foot tall and 10-foot wide, white-gray granite monument was constructed by the Bruce Marble and Granite Works Company of Fort Scott, Kan. At the base of the monument, four projected arms radiate out at 90 degree angles, with each arm representing the four branches of service, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The adopted design featured a streamline look with minimal decorative embellishments.
A short, but poignant, inscription reads, “Erected by the citizens of Joplin in honor of those who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II.” One hundred and sixty four names are inscribed on the war memorial.
One of the names is Everett W. Dodson. According to a story in The Joplin Globe (Jan. 30, 1944), the first casualty from Joplin was Pvt. 1st Class Everett W. Dodson, who was killed on Dec. 8, 1941. The newspaper reported he was killed at Clark Field, in the Philippines, one day after the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Dodson was buried the following day at Fort Strotsenberg Cemetery. Pvt. Dodson was 20 years old and had been serving his country for the past two years as a radio man with the Army Air Force. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Dodson, were first notified on May 10, 1942, by the U.S. War Department that their son had been killed in action.
Only one woman’s name is on the monument, J. Pauline McDaniel, A.N.C. (Army Nurse Corp).
An estimated crowd of 1,000 witnessed the dedication ceremony in 1947: “The ceremony took place at the foot of the monument amid boxes and sprays of flowers furnished for the occasion by relatives and friends of the service men and women whose names are inscribed at the memorial.”
The Rev. Edwin Michael, pastor of the South Joplin Christian Church, delivered the dedication address. The 15-step dedication program was full of songs, performed musical selections and speeches.
In time, lights were added to the lawn. Today, a flag pole sits 15 feet from the monument. The American flag rests in perfect position as a constant symbol of what was clearly at stake during World War II.
WWII took its toll on our community in many ways, but nothing was as devastating as the direct loss of 164 Joplinites. Sadly, these men and one woman would never return home. However, their inscribed names remain as a testimony of their ultimate sacrifice and will remind future generations the enormous costs incurred for the price of freedom. Truly, freedom is not free.
Brad Belk is the director of the Joplin Museum Complex.
