Expanding honor: Adding names to Veterans Memorial Wall must follow a logical process

The Veterans Memorial Wall should stand as solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by military personnel from this community, active duty and veteran. It should be inscribed with the names of those who have served and sacrificed; a memorial that ensures the contributions of hometown military personnel are forever acknowledged and remembered.

The process of adding new names to the Veterans Memorial Wall is a meaningful gesture that should involve meticulous consideration, veteran community involvement and a clear understanding of the military, military history and meaning of sacrifice.

The importance of memorial walls is part of American history and they serve several crucial purposes. Primarily, they act as historical records that connect communities to military history. They provide a place of reflection to remember and honor those who have sacrificed. Moreover, the memorials play a vital role in educating the public and future generations about the sacrifices involved in safeguarding freedom and peace.

Ergo, adding names to the memorial should follow a transparent and logical process. It should include:

Eligibility

Specific criteria that is clearly understood; identify time served, native or long time resident, local high school attended, nature of death (on active duty or succumbed to wounds resulting from active duty), military honors received, i.e. Medal of Honor.

Documentation

Submission of service records like a DD214. These documents help ensure only eligible individuals are added to the memorial, maintaining integrity and accuracy.

Application

Filling out an application with proper documentation; review and approval by a veterans committee.

Review and approval

The memorial is overseen by the city, but there should be a committee of veterans established to review applications to ensure there is an honorable and understandable connection associated with the time in service and that all criteria are met.

There are, however, those who have been added to the memorial who had a questionable connection to Jacksonville, including some who are not even buried here, but back in their hometowns. They were simply serving here on active duty and died of unrelated causes or were killed from something other than combat or hostile actions.

These additions reportedly comply with the original intent, despite the lack of common sense. So, we now have individuals added to the memorial who were killed in domestic disputes, vehicle accidents, shot outside a nightclub, killed in a civilian parachute accident, hit by a car while training for a marathon, died of natural causes, committed suicide while under criminal investigation or after receiving a “Dear John” letter.

These deaths are regrettable, but do they merit being added alongside those who were killed in combat or hostile operations, such as Pfc. Robert Jenkins, USMC. His heroic action of selflessly giving his life by jumping on a grenade saved the lives of his comrades and resulted in a Medal of Honor. There is clearly no comparison to his actions and the aforementioned.

One could easily find many others recently added did not die as a result of combat or hostile actions or have any deep connection to Jacksonville. This seems contrary to what one would expect to honor local individuals on a hometown memorial for bravery and sacrifice.

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Veteran community involvement is critical. Involving the veteran community in the process of adding names to the wall is essential and would help bring a better understanding as to why someone should be added to a veterans memorial. A veterans committee would ensure the process is transparent and addition of names is done for the right reasons — not simply someone who served here on active duty and died or was killed from anything unrelated to military service.

The adding of names to the Veterans Memorial Wall is more than just an administrative task — it is a profound act of remembrance and honor. Each new name serves as a lasting tribute to individual service and collective memory that ties current and future generations to their history. It is crucial to approach the task with the honesty, respect and dignity that those who not only served, but also sacrificed, rightly deserve.

This ensures that the legacy of bravery and sacrifice continues to be honored in the most fitting way possible. It must not mislead the community as to the sacrifice made by those being added.

Lt. Col. Bob Adelhelm, USMC (retired), Jacksonville

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville needs veteran committee to review memorial wall additions