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The Monument City in the Midwest

By Collin Perry

Indianapolis is a city of many nicknames. Most often referred to simply as “Indy”, the city also is known as the Crossroads of America, the Circle City and the amateur sports capital. But at the heart of the city is something that lies within the heart of all Americans: A symbol of freedom, dedication and the sacrifices of lives to freedom in the past.

The first national conflict in which Indiana played a significant role in was the Civil War. Since those early beginnings in the 1860s, Indianapolis has been a point of interest for veterans. This is evident in the many monuments and structures dedicated to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The city holds the second most monuments of both U.S. and allied soldiers in the country, only behind the nation’s capital.

The tradition that began over 150 years ago continues to this day. Events like the Indianapolis 500 and Fourth of July celebrations commemorate the past men and women that left their homes to fight for their nation. Also, this dedication to service continues with Indiana’s National Guard and ROTC programs, training for future military service to the nation and the world.

Commitment to the Union

From the very beginning, Indianapolis and Indiana was steadfast in their commitment to the Union war effort. In April of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln (who stopped in Indianapolis on his way to his inauguration earlier that year) called for 75,000 volunteers from the north to suppress the rebellion in the south, according to John Barnhart of the Indiana Magazine of History. Initially, Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton offered 10,000 men to Lincoln’s cause. In only a week, Morton had 12,000 soldiers volunteered from across the state.

J. Stewart Goodwin, former Air Force Brigadier General and current Executive Director of the Indiana War Memorial, said Hoosiers at the time understood the ideas of being a border state and a state committed to the union.

“But Morton was very good friends with Abraham Lincoln,” Goodwin said. “And Lincoln was looking for soldiers. And as it turned out, Indiana gave him a lot of soldiers.”

Throughout the conflict, almost three out of every four eligible men in Indiana served for the union. That is the second most per capita in the Midwestern states, only behind Illinois, according to civil-war.net.

Where did all of these volunteers and soldiers meet? Right in the middle of the state in Indianapolis. Over 60 percent of all of the regiments formed in the state came from one of the 24 military camps that were near the Indianapolis area, according to Indianapolis historian Edward Leary. One of these included Camp Morton, located where the State Fairgrounds is today.

While the men were off fighting in the south, women had an increased role to play back home. Elaine Sholty, member of the Caroline Scott Hudson Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, said this task for women was similar to the one they had during the revolution.

“The difference between today and then is that women took care of the home entirely,” Sholty said. “What they did additionally to support the war was join the women’s sanitary commission. Between the morning time and dinner time, they would roll bandages and use old sheets to knit scarves, gloves and hats for the men.”

Though over 26,000 soldiers died in the conflict from Indiana (according to civil-war.net), Indianapolis experienced a boom unlike any other in the Midwest. Census data tells that the population of the city exploded from just 8,000 in 1850 to 45,000 in 1864. Companies and civil improvements brought more and more people to the city. Finally, after over 20 years since the Civil War ended, the central piece to the city today started construction: The Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

Dedication to the Fallen

Construction of The Soldiers and Sailors Monument began in 1889. Built by the Terre Haute Stone Works Company out of limestone from Owen County, it was completed in 1901. At the time, it was the second tallest monument in the country, behind only the Washington Monument.

“At the time of its completion, it was the only monument built to honor the common soldier,” Goodwin said.

The monument has been retouched several times since its dedication in 1902. A museum was added during World War I and the most recent renovation happened in 2009. Throughout its history, it has become the iconic symbol of the city and the state to the rest of the nation.

While the Soldiers and Sailors Monument looks unchanged from its initial creation, there are still events that remember those gave their lives in serving their country. Sholty and the Daughters of the American Revolution recently dedicated 51 bricks to the 51 soldiers from Indiana who are Missing in Action from the conflict in Vietnam.

“Memorializing and placing monuments that last are still very much alive today,” she said. “This shows our dedication right up to today.”

Though not changing much today, it took over 20 years to complete the Indiana War Memorial on the American Legion Mall in downtown Indianapolis. Initially proposed as a way to lure the American Legion’s headquarters to Indianapolis, the War Memorial began construction in the mid 1920s. After a dedication ceremony on Veterans Day in 1933, it was finally completed as designed in 1965.

“What the Hoosiers wanted to do when the war was over was to honor the 135,000 who served (from Indiana) and the 3,300 who died,” Goodwin said. “They spent 2.2 million dollars to honor those folks. That’s when a gallon of milk cost a nickel. And they spent every dime of it on the War Memorial.”

The result of the $2.2 million came the building that was bigger than its design model, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, which was one of the seven wonders of the world. The War Memorial is about 75 feet taller than the former Greek tomb.

Within the pinnacle of the Indiana War Memorial is the shrine room, a room that is dedicated to the allied forces in World War I. Lining the walkway to the room is a marble staircase with the names of each Hoosier who served in the Great War. Included in the shrine room are paintings of the leading soldiers of each allied nation, as well as the Altar of Consecration. Other aspects of the War Memorial include military museum with artifacts from the USS Indianapolis and every major U.S. war dating back to the American Revolution. Sam Handy, current first-year student at Purdue University, said he remembers going to the War Memorial as a kid in elementary school.

“It’s important because you get to see history, especially of Indiana,” he said. “I remember in cub scouts, the sponsors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis exhibit let us come in use the radio like you would on the ship. It was really cool.”

Outside and just south of the War Memorial is the American Legion mall, along with the obelisk square and the cenotaph. The obelisk was built to represent the fundamentals of democracy, while Cenotaph Square was built to remember those who died during World War I. The inscription memorializes James B. Gresham, the first Hoosier to die in World War I.

The American Legion Story

Following World War I, an organization made up of American veterans came together after the war. Initially formed by Congress and then becoming a non-profit organization serving the interests of veterans, the American Legion began in 1919. At their first legion convention in Minneapolis, the Legion had two main choices to set up their national headquarters: Indianapolis or Washington D.C. Indianapolis won over the nation’s capital in by just under 40 total votes of the more than 600 cast. Why?

“In 1920, around 120 trains a day went through Indianapolis,” Goodwin said. “So it was the easiest place in the country to get to. The western states voted as a block, so that’s why the headquarters are here.”

Since then, the national headquarters have been located downtown on the American Legion mall. The current headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue was built in 1950 and houses the administrative offices and the Emil A. Blackmore museum. The museum includes weapons from the World Wars, military uniforms and American Legion medals, badges and memorabilia.

The initial home of the national headquarters on Meridian Street has been vacant after the Indiana American Legion headquarters moved to Lawrence in 2014. However, Goodwin said the building is being renovated to become a veterans center, to help Indiana’s veterans to collect their benefits, as part of a project by the Indiana Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

“There will be different representatives from all of the different veteran organizations,” Goodwin said. “In other words, when a veteran walks into that building, their time of looking where to get their benefits is over.”

The $5.2 million project is underway and is set to be open to all veterans from Indiana in January of 2020, according to Goodwin. He said it is the only building to have a representative from all of the major veteran organizations under one roof in the country.

Celebrations and Traditions in Indianapolis

Indianapolis hosts the biggest sporting event in the nation every May, the Indianapolis 500 mile race. Though initially chosen to be held on the last day (and now Sunday) in May due to farmers being out of the field around that time, it has become a tradition to remember the military at the track on Memorial Day weekend. During the pre-race ceremony, Taps is played and members of the military are invited every year. However, one of the unforgettable traditions at the track is the fly-over.

At the end of the national anthem, several military planes fly over the track to the amazement of the hundreds of thousands of fans. Some of the past planes include F-16s and even the B-2 Stealth Bomber in past years. Colonel Matthew Handy is an Army Aviation Support Facility Commander with the Indiana National Guard. He’s in charge of communicating with the pilots and the track on the timing of the planes to fly over right at the end of the Star Spangled Banner.

“Sometimes it’s just not possible,” Colonel Handy said. “Sometimes you can’t delay or speed up the aircraft enough. We just foster a sense of teamwork with all the entities so we can get that done as professionally and as safely as possible.”

Matthew Handy has Indiana roots, growing up in Huntington, Indiana, a small city in northeast Indiana. He said the Army has given him many different opportunities, like being in the pagoda for the biggest sporting event in the world.

“I’ve traveled the world, I’ve seen many different things,” Colonel Handy said. “Things that I would have never dreamt of as a kid.”

Sam Handy is Colonel Handy’s son. Just like his father, Sam Handy is continuing his family’s tradition of service by being in the ROTC program in West Lafayette. Sam said he saw his father as his hero growing up, but joining the ROTC program was his decision.

“My dad stressed that when I was looking at colleges, I should not join the military just cause he’s in it,” Sam Handy said. “It has to be your choice. And that’s what is so great about our military. That it is a volunteer army, and that it’s anyone’s choice.”

Another budding tradition in Indianapolis is the Independence Day celebrations. Events that happened downtown last year included a block party, a variety of different concerts and an Indianapolis Indians game with fireworks. However, the largest event happens on the American Legion Mall with the IPL Downtown Freedom Fest. Thousands of Hoosiers setup on the mall to watch fireworks get launched off of the Regions Tower.

Holidays are the busiest for Indianapolis, yet there are events being held memorializing veterans throughout the year.

“When I got here they were doing 100 events a year,” Goodwin said about the Indiana World War Memorial. “Now we’re doing over 450 to 500 events a year, with over a million people who come here to attend something.”

There are a variety of monuments and memorials across the city that go unnoticed, such as the military graves at Crown Hill Cemetery. Including those, Indianapolis has the most acreage of memorials in the country, surpassing Washington D.C., according to Goodwin.

The Next in Line: Indianapolis’s ROTC Program

Jerry Barker, current Recruiting Operations Officer for the IUPUI ROTC program, did not take the ROTC route. He was working at a gas station on the corner of I-465 and Pendleton Pike in Lawrence when an Army recruiter entered the station.

“I told him what I was interested in doing,” Barker said. “I met with him that afternoon, and a couple weeks later I enlisted in the army.”

Barker went to Fort Benning and became an Infantryman. After spending 23 years in active service, he decided to come home to work in his hometown.

“I like the idea of being stable in a civilian community,” Barker said. “I like the idea of keeping the kids in the same school and not having to move to a different place every few years.”

The ROTC program is through IUPUI, though several schools like Butler University and University of Indianapolis participate in the program. The program begins during a student’s first year and will be taken alongside a given major at the college level. At the end of the four years, the student will commit to becoming an Army officer.

The type of training that these students receive, called basic officer leadership training (BOLC), is slow at first, Barker said.

“We train at a crawl, walk, run type of method,” Barker said. “As a freshman cadet, you come in crawling. Pre-basic training task lists. As you grow up, we start introducing you into the advanced course training.”

Currently, first year Butler University student Conor Maloney is in that crawl phase. Maloney is one of the few ROTC students who do not come from a military background. He said he’s thankful of all of the leadership the program has to help him learn about military life.

“It’s been great to see all of the upperclassmen do their jobs and do it right,” Maloney said. “I try and put all that in the back of my head, now that we’re on the ground level.”

Maloney decided to do ROTC to help pay for his schooling at Butler University. He stuck with the program throughout his first year, getting up before 6 a.m. to head downtown for physical training on Monday and Wednesday. This includes running the canal and going through commands.

“I’ve definitely learned from my first semester to organize my schedule better,” he said. “I had a class at 9:30 a.m. so I would have to hustle back and shower, eat and hustle over. But this semester I planned accordingly, so my first class isn’t till 11 a.m. on days I had PT.”

Fellow first year ROTC student Timmy Howard is Maloney’s roommate. Though Maloney had chosen and had gone through the process to have a random roommate, it just so happened that they were paired together. Howard said he always wanted to be in the military, but joining ROTC has led him to fall in love with the military once again.

“It’s helped me understand and better my mental strength,” Howard said. “Two-a-days in high school sports is a lot different than being out in the middle of the woods lugging around 30 pounds of gear for hours in the pouring rain. It has really made me appreciate all of the military and all service members even more.”

Maloney wants to stick to the logistical and informational and technical side of the military after his time at Butler University. Though joining ROTC was to help pay for college, Maloney wants and said joining the military is one of the most honorable thing anyone can do.

“America, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he said. “It’s something that should be protected to the bare bones. We can showcase that to the whole world and show the rest of the world cater that towards their freedom.”

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