Due to our large number of veterans in Denton County, I thought it would be appropriate to write about the Medal of Honor Motorcade as well as the Medal of Honor Museum that just opened in Arlington.
According to the Dallas Morning News, several cities competed to become the location of the 100,000-square-foot museum, and Arlington’s site at 1861 AT&T Way was selected. The museum sits in the city’s entertainment district near Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium. More than three years of planning and preparation have gone into the museum, which includes exhibition galleries, event space and a roof supported by five large pillars, each representing one of the military branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy. A light coming out of the roof represents the new Space Force. The various galleries exhibit many Medals of Honor as well as an education center.
The most impressive part may be the Ring of Honor, which pays tribute to the more than 3,500 recipients of the Medal of Honor, America’s highest award for valor in combat. The circular exhibit at the entrance contains the etched names and has room for more as needed in the future. Covering the Ring of Honor is the Museum’s Rotunda, which will be open 24 hours daily to allow visitors to walk inside and view the names. After hours, the Museum becomes a memorial, lighted and similar to those in D.C., which honor various American heroes.
Another hero’s museum which may interest some is the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum in Hunt County 600 Hwy I-30 in Greenville. This charming museum is about 30 minutes east (maybe longer now that Hwy 380 is under construction!) and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their mission is to emphasize the importance of American-grown cotton and to honor Medal of Honor recipient Army Major Audie Murphy, who’s a Texan by birth.
Many have also been a part of the annual Medal of Honor weekend in Gainesville, just north on I-35. This year’s event was from Wednesday, April 9, through Saturday, April 12. The miles-long parade began at DFW airport around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, and wound its way north including part of I-35W. The Medal of Honor cavalcade was, once again, coordinated by Precinct 4 Constable Danny Fletcher.
It’s always a heartwarming sight to glance up at bridges we pass under and see the firetrucks with ladders up and touching to fly the American flag. People waving flags line the parade route and we all feel so proud to be Americans.
On Thursday, there was a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the Medal of Honor Host City Museum at North Central Texas College, 1525 W. California St. A blood drive with Carter Blood Care was open for donors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Gainesville Civic Center. At 10 a.m. on Friday, there was a ceremonial tree planting to honor the bravery and sacrifices of Medal of Honor recipients at the Homegrown Hero’s Walking Trail. Afterward, there was a banquet at the Gainesville Civic Center. The week ended with a parade along California Street through downtown Gainesville on Saturday, followed by a book signing at North Central Texas College.
In Trophy Club, the town council passed a resolution last fall to seek a state designation as the Texas Town of Patriots. House Concurrent Resolution 96, filed by Rep. Ben Bumgarner, was introduced in the Texas House on March 4. Senate Concurrent Resolution 18, filed by Senator Tan Parker, was introduced in the Texas Senate on Feb. 28. Both resolutions seek the designation for a 10-year period ending in 2035.
With more than 14,000 residents, Trophy Club has long supported community functions such as Memorial Day and Patriot Day ceremonies, has named their public spaces as Independence Park, Freedom Dog Park and Harmony Park, showing a love of liberty and unity and a respect for those who have served in the nation’s military. The town has a Veteran’s Memorial Park and is home to such patriotic civic groups as the Honor Our Wounded Military Foundation and the Trophy Club Rotary. I sincerely hope these resolutions will come to fruition.
Every year, we pay tribute to the men and women who have served our country with a Veterans Day Ceremony at the Courthouse-on-the-Square in downtown Denton, complete with Taps, a volley salute and more. Our Denton County Veterans Coalition provides services to our veterans ranging from a crisis lifeline to Christmas dinners to connecting our veterans in need with solutions and resources.
We have, among our Denton County neighbors, thousands of veterans who served our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we do. Our country truly is the land of the free because of the brave.
Contact Commissioner Dianne Edmondson by email at Dianne.Edmondson@dentoncounty.gov or phone her at 972-434-3960. You can also stop by her office in the Southwest Courthouse, 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Suite 900, in Flower Mound.
