Veterans Plaza is dedicated to the sons and daughters of the City of Independence who fought to preserve liberty and the democratic way of life, honoring service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, and all reserve forces. Its panels recognize those who served on land, on sea, and in the air, including Louis Merkle of the Union Army in the Civil War; Frederick Kessler of the U.S. Army, Robert Wilkins of the U.S.A.A.F., Leroy Raymond Geringer of the U.S.M.C., Lynn Lou MacMillan of the U.S. Army, Robert Allen Hasselbusch of the U.S. Army, and Vernon Glenn Charleston of the U.S. Army in World War II; and Dale A. Waid of the U.S. Army, Richard J. Sadick of the U.S.M.C., and Frederick J. Lechak of the U.S. Army in Vietnam.