'Meaningful' memorial honors 147 miliary members from Shasta County who died in combat

Across the North State, Memorial Day services will mark those who died in military combat with speeches, flags and flowers.

But one memorial this month will remain powerfully silent ― presenting dog tags of the dead, combat boots and an unloaded World War II-era rifle.

People hurry by and barely notice the two display cases in the lobby of the Shasta County Administrative Office at 1450 Court Street that contain a memorial to soldiers who died in wars dating back more than 100 years to World War I and even more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Shasta County Veterans Service Officer Wesley Tucker had the display installed in May and said it will remain through the rest of the month.

In one display case, the memorial features the dog tags of military service members from Shasta County who were killed in action. A soldier's cross, with a helmet resting on a rifle standing between a pair of combat boots, is featured in an adjacent display.

Together, the two display cases take up an area only about 6-feet-by-5-feet. But to Tucker, they carry a much larger meaning.

Tucker noted that in the nearby Board of Supervisors chambers, there are regular skirmishes in the battle of ideas over local government.

"And so to my mind, they're practicing their right to democracy. So I thought it was important that regardless of which side, or how you felt about your current government — whether you like what you have, or you want to make it different or something — I thought it was good to show people what the weight and the cost of that democracy is. And so that's why I thought it was important for that memorial to be in that building," Tucker said.

The inspiration for the display grew out of a similar memorial for Vietnam War veterans that Amy Hancock, administrative secretary in the Veterans Services Office, had discovered.

So Hancock and Tucker went to work making something like it for all Shasta County veterans who died in action.

They went to work scouring National Archives records and other sources until they came up with 147 names.

A company in the Fort Bragg area of North Carolina punched out the dog tags with each of the names, performing all the work for free, Tucker said.

The dog tags hang in one case over a green carpet resembling a field decorated with red paper flowers attached to tiny American flags. Tucker said most of the names were for those killed during World War II and the Vietnam War.

The dog tags of two of Tucker's friends from high school hang in the memorial, he said. Tucker also served in the Army in Afghanistan.

"It's just very meaningful to us. And so we want to make sure that they get recognition and then Gold Star families also get the honor they deserve."

A Battlefield Cross was set up in an adjacent display case, with a helmet set on the butt of replica M1 Garand rifle pointing down between black boots. Dog tags were hung from a chain draped over the rifle. White stars on a blue field covered the back wall of the display.

Erecting a Battlefield Cross, also known as a Soldier's Cross, was a tradition started in World War I and its purpose "is to show honor and respect for the dead at the battle site," according to a placard at the memorial.

"Today, it is a means of showing respect for the dead amongst the still-living troop members," the statement says.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!