Patriotism runs high in Northwest Oklahoma.
Just take a drive through any rural town and see.
From the American flag waving in yards, out in pastures, and on buildings to memorials recognizing the American military and their service, there is a strong sense of honor and remembrance.
The definition of patriotism is the devotion to, and vigorous support for, one’s country. This feeling of love, devotion, or a sense of attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things that are ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects.
As Veterans Day nears, this is the time when the U.S. honors the living who have served in the Armed Forces and patriotism often comes out strong.
On Saturday (Nov. 9) is the annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Enid. Sponsored by Enid Noon AMBUCS, the 10 a.m. parade is anticipated to be “the most patriotic and largest veterans’ parade in Oklahoma,” said organizer Elaine Johns.
But when there are not activities planned, people can honor the military veterans virtually any day throughout the year. Several small towns throughout Northwest Oklahoma have built or established memorials to remember them.
AMES—Like many rural communities, visitors have to be going to Ames to get there. Not found on a main throughfare, Ames has several blacktops winding through pastures that lead into the tiny Major County town of just over 200 residents.
Ames has a strong sense of honor and remembrance of its veterans. Tucked in between the American Legion Jayne-Kennedy Post 340 and Cindy’s Catering café on Main Street is the Ames Honor Roll monument, which commemorates every World War I and World War II veteran from the area.
Every one of those veterans listed are long gone now, lamented Rod Bymaster, who has kin on the honor roll. In fact, he said, Ames is down to a single living Korean War veteran. That leaves the Vietnam War-era veterans such as Bymaster and post commander Jerry Mason among the only remaining veterans keeping the local Legion post alive.
At one time this Legion post had more than 50 members from Ames, Ringwood, Meno, Lahoma, Waukomis, and Drummond participating; now they are down to less than 10. And they’re not getting any younger, Mason joked.
That doesn’t stop them from continuing to honor the military veterans though.
The veterans of yesteryear wanted a way to memorialize their fallen friends and to remember the sacrifices all military veterans had made, so in 1997—50 years after the local post launched—the Veterans Memorial was dedicated in downtown Ames, directly across the street from Legion Post 340.
Mason said the idea for the memorial started at a monthly meeting as members chatted about doing something while they were still alive. Plans and funds came together.
Sponsored bricks lead to the granite walls etched with names of area veterans. Surrounding the veteran walls is static U.S. military equipment on loan from the respective service branches: an Army Howitzer tank, a Navy torpedo and anchor, an Air Force propeller and a T-37 jet plane, which was actually added later to the monument.
“All the (Veterans Memorial) planners are gone now,” Bymaster said. The current Post 340 members carry on, working to ensure the longevity of the memorial, which is required to have liability insurance due to the loaned military equipment.
Bymaster and Mason said local businesses have stepped up to cover the insurance because “they want to see visitors come to Ames.”
They expressed concern that patriotism may eventually fade once the remaining Legion veterans pass on, and that the memorial could go into disarray.
Annually the American Legion hosts a Veterans Day program at the designated school system that year, whether it be Cimarron (consolidation of Ames and Lahoma), Ringwood (which includes Meno kids), Drummond, or Waukomis. This year Ringwood is the program site and will also host a meal for the veterans and their spouses at the Ringwood Ag Ed Building that evening.
The Legion also hosts an annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Ames Cemetery. That ceremony used have upwards of 500 people attend, such as family from out of state returning to remember, but “Covid-19 put a dent in it,” Mason said, adding it’s a much smaller affair these days.
HELENA—At the intersection of State Highways 45 and 58 on the southern edge of Helena in Alfalfa County is the War Monument dedicated to all U.S. military service branches and all wars.
Erected in the early 1990s, this roadside project was dreamed about by members of the Helena’s American Legion Gano Post 28, namely Marine and World War II veteran Ken Hungerford.
Hungerford’s son Kip said his father, who was a local farmer and oilman, made it his life mission to create the one-of-a-kind memorial to honor his fellow countrymen who served in World War II and poured in much of the funding from his own pocket.
What was originally meant to be a small stone listing veterans’ names blossomed into a huge undertaking that Kip Hungerford said oft involved the support of him and his six siblings as well as the community of less than 1,500 and surrounding businesses including prisoners from the nearby Crabtree Correctional Center.
Oklahoma Department of Transportation donated the land for the memorial that now has three tanks (two M60s and one Howitzer), several granite slabs naming not only local veterans but any veteran from any conflict as well as Medal of Honor winners, and a handcrafted iron replica of the anchor from the USS Oklahoma that Kip Hungerford designed at his father’s request.
The Medal of Honor is the highest military award for valor in combat. It was created by President Abraham Lincoln as a way to recognize the bravery of those who served in the Civil War. According to Kip Hungerford, there is only one other such monument that memorializes Medal of Honor winners in the United States (and it’s in Indiana).
The War Monument south of Helena recognizes veterans from as far back as the Revolutionary War all the way to the Persian Gulf War. Ken Hungerford passed in 2015 and Gano Post 28 long ago folded, but the legacy set forth remains.
The town of Helena maintains the mowing and weed eating for the memorial, and Kip Hungerford drives by often to check on it. He notices many a visitor stops to walk through it and take photographs.
ENID—American Military Heritage Museum in Oakwood Mall pays tribute to the American experience in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the present-day war on terrorism. The museum is open weekly 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. There is no admission fee; donations will be accepted to help improve the HVAC system.
It began as an Oklahoma military history exhibit on loan from the Woodring Wall of Honor in the old Sears store at the mall to display all of the donated memorabilia that had been in storage including military vehicles, weapons, artillery pieces, naval vessels, and aircraft. The exhibit went from a 3,500-square-foot space to a 40,000-square-foot storefront. The museum was officially dedicated last Saturday.
Visitors also can go to Enid Woodring Regional Airport, which serves as the site of Woodring Wall of Honor monuments, its ML Becker Educational Center housing a military research library which is by appointment only, and Vietnam Memorial Wall, an 80 percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., that is Oklahoma’s official Vietnam War monument.
Among other Northwest Oklahoma towns that have static U.S. military equipment or veteran memorials on their main streets are Jet, Lamont, and Fairview.
“I think nowadays our children in this country take their freedom for granted,” Ken Hungerford told a reporter in 1993. “Freedom is far from free. You do the best you can and hope someone will understand.”