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Photo by Erin Nelson.
New statues representing service members overlook the Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument at Trussville Veterans Memorial Park on Oct. 2.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
The Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument at Trussville Veterans Memorial Park includes bronze busts and other memorials for the 226 Alabama service members who have died since 9/11 during the global War on Terror.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
The Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument at Trussville Veterans Memorial Park includes bronze busts and other memorials for the 226 Alabama service members who have died since 9/11 during the global War on Terror.
Since the Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument in Trussville was completed earlier this year, Trussville Veterans Committee chairman Chad Carroll has talked to various visitors.
One, a woman who drove from Dothan, came all that way just to visit the monument. When she was done visiting it, she simply drove the three-and-a-half hours back home.
“The big thing that I found out is now that the monument is there, these people actually are thinking about this all the time now,” Carroll said. “And they're wanting to get to know these [service] members that paid the ultimate sacrifice. Now that it is here, it is visible, you can see it. It actually brings people out there to really understand what these members did.”
The Alabama Fallen Warriors Monument, located in Trussville Veterans Park on Parkway Drive, includes all the 226 Alabama service members who have died since 9/11 during the global War on Terror. According to the Alabama Fallen Warriors Project, 115 service members have been killed in action and 111 died a non-hostile death. Construction on the monument began in August 2022 after supply chain issues and plan revisions postponed the project from an initial completion goal of Memorial Day 2022. The project was first approved in November 2021, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held a month later.
People have left painted rocks and thank-you cards, much of which will go in a time capsule to be buried near the monument later this month. In about 20 years, it’ll be opened back up.
Alabama Fallen Warriors Project founder Mark Davis, a U.S. Navy veteran, said the project began first by encouraging Trussville to set up a Veterans Committee to reach out within the city and to surrounding areas to connect with veterans. The outreach as the monument was constructed paid off.
“Trussville is now a tourism destination point for all of Alabama,” Davis said. “The Fallen Warriors Monument recognizes all fallen warriors from all 67 counties for the state of Alabama. I don’t believe there is any other monument in the U.S. like ours.”
Trussville City Councilwoman Jaime Melton Anderson, a 25-year Air Force veteran, said she’s seen the same contemplative visitors that Carroll has.
“It’s solitary people sitting like no one’s with them,” Anderson said. “They don’t have their dogs, they don’t have anything [with them]. They’ve driven there, and they go in there sitting on the bench and they’re just contemplating. It’s just a place of reflection. And I love the fact that people find that welcoming, and that there’s a place for you to just sit and contemplate and think on the sacrifices that people have made.”
Carroll said the people he’s met at the monument have been a range of community members, grandparents of service members killed in action and others.
“To them, it’s just a reminder of the freedoms that we have that we take for granted,” he said. “That we need to always remember and never forget the service members because the things that we get to do today, it’s because of them.”
Anderson said Trussville has become a hub of sorts for veterans largely because of affordable housing for young families and a thriving school system. The nearby 117th Air Refueling Wing in Birmingham, of which Carroll is a member, is a factor as well.
“Not only is [Trussville] incredibly convenient to the 117th Air Refueling Wing, the schools are phenomenal and are a huge magnet for airmen who will only be here [for] maybe three or four years,” Anderson said. “I’ve seen many families move in. I’ve met them in our restaurants, I’ve met them out in the community and met them on the walkways, where I’ll see they’re wearing some sort of Air Force paraphernalia or some sort of military [clothing]. They’ve just moved here, they’re only going to be here for a few years, but Trussville is where they want to call home.”
There are numerous bronze busts around the perimeter of the monument, with room for more. Carroll said those interested should contact the Trussville Veterans Committee or Trussville City Hall. Anderson said the crowd at the dedication of the monument earlier this year proves how welcoming Trussville has been for veterans.
“I think that trend will absolutely continue, especially with the tremendous amount of support that we see from the mayor and the council, and also from the many veterans that are in our community,” she said. “And I think it would shock people how many people are interested currently who have worn the uniform before or are currently wearing it. So, there's a big group out there.”
