Testimonies

North Pedestrian Path

Cherokee White Marble (Tate, Georgia); General Granite (Elburton, Georgia); Specialty engraving – Elite Granite and Marble (Hillboro, Oregon); Digitally printed glass – General Glass, Inc. (Secaucus, New Jersey); Specialty lamination and polishing – Savoy Glass (Portland, Oregon) and Key Glass (Bradenton, Florida)

Testimonies focuses on the personal experiences of being in service and being in a military family. The space features 16 Georgia white marble tablets measuring 8'6" tall by 4' wide and 8" deep.

The tablets are placed on small plazas along the northern pedestrian path of Patriot Plaza. Each tablet has a window cut through it where a thick glass element is inserted. The glass is imprinted with a photographic image while the stone includes an engraved drawing and text, reflecting the personal voices of those who have served, supported, and sacrificed in the military life.

Spanning Generations

These images and texts cross generations. An image from World War II might have a drawing of a contemporary image and text from a Vietnam Veteran. An image from the Korean War might have a drawing from Iraq and text from the Afghanistan conflict.

Mothers speak of their concern for their grown children serving half the world away. Children speak of living with grandparents because their parents are deployed.

A retiree speaks of his pride in joining up and wearing a uniform.

A veteran gives voice to the difficulties of returning home after serving in the battlefield. A wife speaks of understanding that this isn’t a career, it is a mission.

The combination of words and images, from across time and generations, suggests that much about the military life is much as it always has been and may always be. A military family has life challenges that test each family member.