Here are the places in Cape and Bollinger Counties that families can travel to in one day that salute the veterans from Southeast Missouri.  To travel to all the locations plan to spend at least an afternoon in the car.

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Cape Girardeau:

    The first stop in Cape Girardeau is the Union Monument and Fountain.  The Women's Relief Corps provided a cst iron pedestal and zinc Union Soldier and Fountain to the Courthouse Park in 1911.  The monument was rededicated in memory to all American Veterans in 1961.  The  following quote show the essense of the memorial.  "The statue fountain, beuaty and in it's usefulness will be an oasis in the desert of the busy everyday life, furnishing refreshing draughts to the thristy, a resting place for the weary and encouragement for the heavy of heart."  The second place to visit in Cape is the Confederate War Memorial.  The Confederate War Memorial was errected by the United States Daughters of the Confederacy in 1931.  The configuration of Georgia Silver Gray Marble stands 14 1/2 feet tall and weighs 12 1/2 tons.  It is located at the Courthouse Park.  The final stop in Cape Girardeau is at Freedom Corner.  Freedom Corner is in Capaha Park.  A minature replica of the Statue of Liberty and Memorial Columns honoring the lives sacrificed during wartime is found there.  It was dedicated in 1976.  Eagles on top of the memorial were taken from a steamboat that stopped in Cape prior to the construction and opening of the Mississippi River Bridge.

Jackson:

    After touring Cape, head west into Jackson for two very different veterans' memorials.  The first is found at Brookside Park.  This is a memorial to veterans of all wars.  There are eleven columns of black granite with the engraved names of over 2,400 veterans from Cape County.  A 35 foot dial features three huge granite stones creating the American Flag, the Prisoner of War Flag, and the Missouri State Flag.  The other memorial in Jackson is the World War One Memorial.  The World War I Memorial features a statue of a typical World War One soldier. Typical American soldiers were called "doughboys" during the war.  The memorial lists the names of all the individuals from Jackson who made the supreme sacrifice during World War I.

  Cape Girardeau County

    Between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, there is a park which makes the perfect place for a picnic lunch.  In the County Park is the County Park Flag.  This flag declares America's freedom.  The flag itself is 20' by 30' and can be seen for miles.  The Cape County Veterans of All Wars American Flag Memorial is sponsored by numerous veteran groups in the area.  An inspirational avenue of over 450 flags fly on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran's Day at the north entrance to the park.  Each of these flags bear the name of a Cape County veteran.

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Last edited: July 8, 2000.
Copyright © 2000.

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