WWII Monument

One of every eight Americans served in uniform during WWII…more than 16 million. Over 5,000 Bedford County citizens served in uniform and, when the war was over, everyone did their best to get back to normal…getting on with their lives.

Since everyone was so involved with the war effort, they never built a monument to themselves. In 2014, Bedford County citizens built this WWII Monument.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR

The pedestal lists the names of each Bedford County veteran who died during the war. Including the day and place where they fell.

There’s a MORSE CODE message carved into the pedestal capstone. Can you find it? Can you decipher it?

Every brick in the surrounding Honor Walk is the name of our areas WWII Vets, except for one. This man was everywhere during WWII and even found his way to Bedford. Can you find him?

The statue was created by Wayne Hyde. Wayne lives in Manns Choice, PA, about 8 miles west of Bedford. When the statue was still in clay, we invited our WWII Veterans to press their thumbprints into the base of the statue. There are 105 WWII Vet thumbprints now cast into the bronze.

The Artist

Before it was cast in bronze, the statue was sculpted in clay by Bedford County resident, Wayne Hyde.

Pressed in Clay

The completed clay statue was opened to area WWII Veterans who were invited to place their thumb prints into the sculpture.

Preserved in Bronze

Look carefully in the bronze wall and surrounding stones. You’ll see those thumb prints.The completed clay statue was opened to area WWII Veterans who were invited to place their thumb prints into the sculpture.

The Message

Look for the morse code message carved into the capstone. Click below for a cipher to use at the monument.

Morse Code

Honoring the Fallen

Bedford County’s WWII Monument lists the names of 173 County veterans who died during WWII. Click the link below for a complete list of known Bedford County veterans who were killed in action.

WWII KIA List

The Honor Walk

The area surrounding the statue and pedestal is the WWII Honor Walk. Every named brick, (EXCEPT FOR ONE!) shows the name and service of area WWII Veterans.