Emerson High School, Class of 1965

Three months following the conclusion of World War II, an impressive Memorial to the service men and women from Gary’s East Side was erected in Buffington Park. The Memorial, which honored those living east of Broadway and north of the Wabash tracks, was financed by contributions from the mothers of those who served.

The twenty-two ton Memorial consists of a huge slab of granite set on edge, with the names of 1013 service men and women carved on both sides. It is flanked on either side by a stone urn and embellished with decorative carving. Brass flames on top of the urns, crafted by the industrial arts students at Emerson High School, were another original feature.

City officials, civic leaders, and service men and women attended the dedication, held on Sunday afternoon, November 18, 1945. It was sponsored by the East Side Honor Roll Club, Harold Sandbach, President. George Kuny, Gary park botanist, designed the grounds around the Memorial, which were originally illuminated at night with floodlights.

The inscription above the names reads:

The dates inscribed on the Memorial represent the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the date on which Japan’s formal surrender was signed.

The names inscribed on the Memorial are now available for the first time on the Internet: