WWII honor roll service arch

Replacement work was started in the city park July 8, 1943, on a new honor roll service board replacing the temporary board located on the southeast corner of the park. It was to be located near the flagpole on the east side of the park. The city park is called the courtyard today.

The honor roll board was in the form of an arch connecting large pillars. High school principal Ralph Evans constructed the arch and was in charge of the work.

The arch was constructed of wood and a rock-like building board and painted white. On the pillars of the arch, six windows about 2-square feet were built with sliding frames that permitted ready access to the list of names of some 1,200 men and women in the service. A special window was made for names of those who lost their lives in the war.

The arch was built at the height of the wartime enlistments and inductions and was a joint endeavor of WWII mothers, the United Service Women’s Club, the legion and auxiliary and would be presented to the community on their behalf. Public donations helped defray the $200-$300 cost of the new honor roll.

Speaker and band platforms were erected on the west side of the arch in preparation for dedication. The steel park benches were arranged in a “V” in front of the arch and reserved for relatives of members whose names appeared on the honor roll in the windows of the arch.

Iowa Gov. Bourke Hickenlooper was the principal speaker at the dedication of the new honor roll arch Oct. 1, 1943. Hundreds attended the event. A concert was given by the Osceola city band. School children were each given a small flag and assembled in front of the platform.

A Boy Scout was stationed at each of the windows on the arch, and on a signal drew aside the curtains unveiling the names on the honor roll. The ceremony concluded by the blowing of the retreat and lowering of the flag while the band played the national anthem.

The arch was designed as a temporary structure and had, over time, disintegrated to the point it was an eyesore in the park. The arch was torn down in 1952 by order of the city council.

Project sponsors during the war had expected a permanent memorial would be erected in the county by the time it was necessary to demolish the arch. Voters of the county defeated a bond issue for a memorial building at the close of the war.

A Civil War cannon and stack of cannon balls decorated the courthouse yard from the early 1900s until WWII when they were sent to a foundry to be melted into materials for the war effort. A turret from a naval ship was also on display for years. That, too, must have been taken with the cannon.