Just steps away, a two-tone stone with a full color replica of the Purple Heart honors those who received that medal because they were killed or wounded in combat.

The two monuments are the newest additions to Veterans Memorial Park north of Fort Dodge by Badger Lake. Set up close to the parking lot, they will be easily spotted by everyone arriving at the park for today’s Memorial Day observance.

The two monuments were put in place about a month ago, according to Fort Dodge City Councilman Terry Moehnke, who led the effort to establish the park.

CJ Bio America, which is part of CJ Cheljedang Corp., of Seoul, South Korea, paid for the Korean War monument.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
The above monument is a tribute to those who received the Purple Heart because they were killed or wounded in combat. Fort Dodge Noon Sertoma Club and Historic Bruce Funeral Home teamed up to buy the monument.

“They reached out and they wanted to put something out there,” Moehnke said. “They funded the whole thing.”

The monument features images of the American and South Korean flags and the Korean Peninsula. The dates of the fighting — June 25,1950 to July 27, 1953 — are engraved in the monument.

Its inscription says: “Honoring those who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and people they never met. Dedicated to the heroes of our forgotten war who struggled to preserve freedom for South Korea.”

Fort Dodge Noon Sertoma Club and Historic Bruce Funeral Home teamed up to buy the Purple Heart monument.

Its inscription reads, “In honor of Purple Heart recipients. They paid for our freedom with blood. All gave some. Some gave all.”

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
This monument, recently installed at Veterans Memorial Park north of Fort Dodge, honors all Americans who fought in the Korean War. CJ Bio America paid for the monument.

The new monuments flank the walkway leading to a monument to Air Force Master Sgt. Craig Hanrahan, which resembles the United States Air Force Memorial near Washington, D.C.

Other sculptures and monuments in the park include a Soldiers Cross, an eagle and a sculpture of an angel lifting a fallen soldier. A large monument lists the names of every Webster County resident killed in action, starting with the Spanish-American War of 1898.

At the base of the many trees in the park are markers bearing the names of area veterans.