Iowa Chapter 776 and Illinois Chapter 299

Americal Memorial Dedication

The Americal Division Memorial was dedicated on Wednesday, September 8, at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois. The modest stone memorial slab commemorates the Americal (23rd) Division, which the Army established during World War II in the New Caledonia islands in the Pacific expressly to fight in the jungle environment.

Members of the Americal, along with VVA members from Illinois, Iowa, and Texas and many guests, witnessed the unveiling of the monument dedicated to the division.

The process to place the monument was begun by VVA members Lyle Peterson and Roger Gilmore and was sponsored by the Americal Legacy Foundation. The monument can be found along the tree-lined Memorial Walkway in the National Cemetery at the Arsenal.

On hand to help with the unveiling was 97-year-old World War II Americal veteran Walter Lehman, who lives in West Liberty, Iowa. The Honor Guard was made up of VVA members from Bettendorf, Iowa, Chapter 776 and Moline, Illinois, Chapter 299.

The Americal Division was reactivated in September 1967 in Vietnam and deactivated on November 29, 1981, at Fort Lewis, Washington.

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