Bicknell Veterans Memorial

Bicknell honors residents who served in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Utah National Guard, Merchant Marines, and U.S. Space Force across conflicts including the Black Hawk War, Mexican American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, Grenada, and the Middle East, and it identifies those killed in action, held as prisoners of war, and awarded Purple Hearts. At its center is Kelly Strong’s 1981 poem “Freedom Isn’t Free,” which reflects on salutes to the flag, the sound of Taps, graves on foreign soil and at sea, and the cost borne by soldiers and their families. Special notice is given to Bicknell residents killed in action Wayne R. DeLeeuw, W. Wayne Johnson, and Jay D. Smith; prisoners of war Jay D. Smith and Kay S. Taft; and Purple Heart recipients including Wayne R. DeLeeuw, Owen L. Jeffs, W. Wayne Johnson, Arthur H. Lee, Quincy L. Peterson, Jay D. Smith, Wayne A. Smith, and Kay S. Taft. A personal account by Artie Jane Smith Taft recalls the sacrifices of her family after December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor brought the United States into war: her brother Jay entered the Marines, survived the Bataan Death March, and was later killed on an unmarked prison boat and buried at sea; Kay joined the Air Force as a flight navigator, was shot down on his thirteenth mission over Germany, endured German prison camp marches, and survived until liberation; Mack served in the Navy supplying men overseas under danger at sea; Don joined the Merchant Marines; and Clifford Olson, whom she also raised, chose flying in the Navy.

Bicknell, Utah · United States