Special Operations memorials:
Past, present and future

USASOC PAO

photos by Gillian Albro/USASOC PAO The Special Forces Memorial Statue, “Bronze Bruce,” stands watch over the USASOC Memorial Plaza outside the command’s headquarters building at Fort Bragg.  Originally built in 1969, the statue was moved to the plaza from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in 1994.  He faces the USASOC Memorial Wall, which displays the names of more than 1,000 Army SOF heroes killed in action since the Vietnam War.

When one steps onto the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Memorial Plaza, one cannot help but sense one is standing on hallowed ground. Surrounded on all sides by decades of rich special operations history, one is almost overwhelmed when considering all that these memorials represent.

On the south end of the plaza, standing 22-feet tall and overlooking Meadows Field, the Special Forces Memorial Statue, “Bronze Bruce,” stands vigilant guard, just like the Green Berets he was sculpted to honor. Even though the statue is now the centerpiece of the Memorial Plaza, it has not always been his home.

After five years of construction, at a cost of $100,000, the memorial statue was originally placed at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School’s Memorial Plaza in 1969. Designed and hand-crafted by famed American sculptor, Donald De Lue, the memorial statue was cast in Italy and is made of golden bronze.

Dedicated as the first Vietnam War memorial in the United States, SF Soldiers from all over the world donated money for its production. Several notable celebrities such as John Wayne and Barry Sadler, the author of the song “The Ballad of the Green Beret,” both of whom are noted for their support of Army Special Forces operators, also contributed large sums of money.

Placed inside the memorial is a time capsule containing a Vietnam-era Special Forces uniform, a Green Beret, a bust of President John F. Kennedy and a copy of the speech he gave authorizing the wear of the Green Beret by Special Forces.

This powerful image of one of the nation’s most legendary fighting forces portrays a sergeant first class wearing the jungle fatigues of a Vietnam-era warrior. Held in his right hand is an M-16, one of the tools of his trade. With his finger outside the trigger well, he stands alert to any threat. Crushed beneath his left foot, a snake symbolizes the threat and dangers in the world that will instantly bring him to action. Even amid the hazards of his profession, he offers an outstretched and helping hand to the unseen oppressed of the world.

Originally, the memorial was designed with the Special Forces Soldier’s hand reaching out to children in need. While he is fully capable of bringing violence to the enemies of the nation, he is also fully willing and able to help those in need.

On Dec. 9, 1994, the memorial statue and the undisturbed time capsule were moved from its original location at USAJFKSWCS to the Memorial Plaza at the newly built USASOC headquarters. A ceremony dedicating the plaza was presided over by then-USASOC commanding general, now-retired Lt. Gen. James T. Scott.

Continuing north across the plaza, you walk among the rank and file of memorial stones representing some of the most elite units Army special operations have produced. Initially there were only 11 of these stones in honor of SOF units from World War II to present. The number of stones has since grown to 24. From legendary units such as the Office of Strategic Services’ Jedburgh Teams and Merrill’s Mauraders, to the present day 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, one can see in the stones the progression of Army special operations from its infancy into the mature, elite force it has become.

While Army Special Operations Forces have developed into one of the most premiere fighting forces in the world, they could not have gotten there without the selfless service and sacrifices of many along the way. At the north end of the Memorial Plaza, resting below the ever-waving colors of the nation’s flag stands the USASOC Memorial Wall of Honor.

In 1995, a year after the plaza was dedicated, the Memorial Wall was unveiled. Upon it were the names of 804 special operations Soldiers who were killed in the Vietnam War. Of those names, 20 were Medal of Honor recipients, 108 received the Distinguished Service Cross or Distinguished Flying Cross. A combined 882 Silver Stars and 2,688 Purple Hearts were also awarded.

In the years since the wall’s dedication, more names have been added to remember those lost from the Vietnam War to present day.

Each Memorial Day, USASOC conducts a ceremony adding the names of those comrades lost in the previous year. Currently, the wall honors the names of more than 1,000 American heroes who gave their last full measure of devotion.

“As exemplary free men and volunteers, they served within our nation’s most elite formations, foremost in the ranks, specifically to protect that which they love, but also to extend the same freedom and choice to oppressed peoples in faraway lands,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr., USASOC commanding general, at this year’s memorial ceremony.

In tribute to those brave SOF Soldiers lost, the Memorial Wall is being redesigned and is scheduled to be unveiled and re-dedicated during next year’s memorial ceremony. The new wall will continue the legacy of its predecessor, indelibly scribing the names and memories of those fallen Army SOF heroes. 

Mulholland says the reason the wall will soon undergo this transformation is, “to ensure that the fallen Soldiers of the world’s finest fighting force are remembered and recognized in a manner as best possibly befits their sacrifice.”