Teddy W. Pylant, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and Vietnam veteran, served 34 years in the Arkansas National Guard as a member of the 875th Engineer Battalion and also served at Arkansas National Guard Headquarters and at the Pentagon. The author of three military history books, he conceived the idea for a veterans monument to recognize the service and honor the sacrifice of those who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. He chartered the Craighead County Veterans Monument Foundation in October 2000, and dedication ceremonies followed on Veterans Day 2001. The monument is a living monument with new bricks added each year, and it incorporates the World War Doughboy Statue from 1920, the Spanish American War plaque from 1940, and the navy ship USS Arkansas Anchor from 2004.