I am the Star Spangled Banner....conceived in 1777 out of the love America bore for Liberty and Honor.

I am the Memorial of countless heros who shed their blood to preserve this sacred heritage.

I have inspired generations of gallant men who fought against tyranny.

I am the spirit of Valley Forge....of sacrifice....of courage.

I have guarded every rampart where Freedom defended its glorious cause....

Tripole...Belleau Woods...Argonne Forest...Omaha Beach...Anzio...Bastogne...Guadacanal...Coral Sea...Leyte Gulf...Iwo Jima...Korea...Viet Nam...Persian Gulf.

I fly wherever Americans give their lives to preserve the sanctity of life.

My home is in the hearts of all who feel a thrill of pride when they salute me and what I symbolize-

With the depressed economy of the 1930s, Harlingen leaders sought to attract Federal funds to the area. In May 1941, in preparation for what would become World War II, the U.S. War Department accepted the city's offer of 960 acres for a military airfield and flexible gunnery school. The area's flat topography, impractical for artillery training, was ideal for aircraft operations. Additional land was procured along the coast to use for combat maneuvers. The Harlingen Army Gunnery School received its first students in August 1941. By 1944, the facility was nearly 1,600 acres in size. Accommodating at peak times up to 9,000 trainees. Among those stationed at the base were Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The field closed in 1946; following the war, numerous buildings were sold to area residents and businesses. In April 1952, with the U.S. involved in Korea, the Government reactivated the field as Harlingen Air Force Base, with the primary mission of training navigators. New facilities included a hospital, and base and area residents followed local and national events in the Sun Lines newspaper. In 1961, the U.S. Government announced numerous base closures, including the base in Harlingen. By June 1962, when the last class graduated from the school, more than 13,000 navigators had completed their training in Harlingen. The base closure, which removed millions of dollars from the local economy, severely impacted the city. Base facilities eventually served as a regional airport, which became the Valley International Airport in 1970. Portions of the base have also been used for an industrial air park, the Texas State Technical Institute (now College), the Marine Military Academy and the Rio Grande Valley Museum.

This memorial is dedicated in honor and memory to all Ray County World War II and Korean War veterans who served and fought. These honored men gave the supreme sacrifice in the defense of our great nation in order to preserve our freedom and ideals as a free country.

Texas A&M University opened in October 1876 and established the Corps of Cadets to fulfill its Congressional mandate to teach military tactics. The students at what was then an all-male institution were required to serve in the corps and follow military discipline. At the center of the Corps and campus activity was the Main Drill Field, where cadets drilled and practiced maneuvers before and after classes. The site of horse-drawn artillery and infantry exercises, as well as student pilot training in the 1920s, the open parade ground also served as the university's early football field prior to construction of a permanent field in 1905. The Aggie Bonfire was held on the Main Drill Field from 1909 until 1955, and students assembled for drills and graduation activities, including the Corps' Final Review. In 1920, A&M's Board of Directors paid tribute to former cadets killed during World War I by planting oak trees around the field. Markers at each tree provided the name, class and site and date of death for each man. The classes of 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926 placed a granite memorial to the war casualties on the west side of the drill field, which was later named for A&M distinguished alumni Lieutenant General Ormond R. Simpson, a 1936 mechanical engineering graduate of the university. After serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Simpson retired in 1972 and became A&M's Assistant Vice-President for Student Services and head of the School of Military Sciences. He served at the university until retiring in 1985, the year the field was named in his honor. A&M's Main Drill Field is a testament to the school's beginnings as a military and academic institution, as well as a symbol of Aggies' service to their state and nation.

Wiley (1799-1866) and Cynthia Ann Suttle (1811-1884) Thompson brought their eight children and a number of slaves to this area from Alabama in 1847. They purchased a 636-acre tract of land along Larrison Creek where they built a log home on a hill overlooking the creek bottomland. The community that developed nearby became known as Forest and included a store, saloon, mills and cotton gin owned by the family. Four more offspring were born here to the Thompsons, but around 1850, two of their children died and the family reportedly buried them in the corner of the yard where the house once stood. These first burials that began this cemetery are now among the more than thirty that are unmarked; the earliest dated grave is that of Mrs. L.N. Williams, who died in 1863. Those laid to rest here include veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Descendants of the Thompsons and families of the forest community continue to contribute to the care and upkeep of this burial ground. The original Thompson home and other early structures are gone, but this cemetery remains as a chronicle of the pioneers and generations who settled and developed this area of Cherokee County.

In Memory of those from Johnson County who gave their lives in World War I, World War II, The Korean and Vietnam Conflicts, and to all of Those who valiantly fought for Liberty, Freedom and Justice.

In honor and memory of all veterans of the community of Belle, Missouri who served their country in times of peace and war, and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice so that we might enjoy freedom. Their spirit, devotion, and love of country will be forever remembered.

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