A time to remember: new guide commemorates Dartmouth's veterans and its war memorials

Posted 05/26/01

A guide to Dartmouth's war memorials will debut in time for Memorial Day, offering the stories behind the dozen or so memorials on campus and a locator map.

Written by Charles Wood, the Daniel Webster Professor of History Emeritus, the booklet also lists the names of all the 528 Dartmouth dead honored in the memorials.

"[T]he U.S. has found itself so frequently at war that most generations of Dartmouth students have found military service interrupting, changing and sometimes tragically ending their lives. That is why war memorials grace so many parts of this campus, honoring those who have served their country, and especially those who have died for it," writes Wood in the booklet's introduction.

The idea for the booklet, which takes its title, The Hill Winds Know Their Name, from a Richard Hovey poem that became the Dartmouth alma mater, began to form two years ago when Vice President and Treasurer Win Johnson had a conversation with two World War II-era veterans. Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran himself, agreed with these men that attention paid to the presence of the memorials on campus, their condition and the history behind them was disappointingly low given the deeds of honor and sacrifice they represented. Armed with some initial research compiled by his office, Johnson spoke with President James Wright, who steered him to Wood.

"This project could not have gotten into better hands," said Johnson. "What Charlie has written makes an inspiration out of what began as a passing thought; he breathes life into monuments that were becoming nothing more than relics. I hope the guide will increase community awareness of the military service rendered by generations of Dartmouth alumni."

The war memorials booklet goes beyond a mere listing of names, locations and dates to detail the historical circumstances surrounding the creations of each memorial.

"A memorial reflects community attitudes toward a war at a particular moment. Comparing the forms memorials take and the wording of their inscriptions can tell you a lot about how people viewed each war and its impact," said Wood.

For example, football stadiums - including Dartmouth's own Memorial Field - were a popular way to remember the fallen after World War I. Wood explains that the anonymity of The Great War's industrialized slaughter left Americans hungering for heroes, and in the 1920s they found them in football and other sports. By contrast, the College's Vietnam War Memorial is an abstract sculpture that captures the confusion and discord the conflict generated both on and off campus, explains Wood.

In addition to memorials for the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, there are several memorials that are tributes to individuals.

Release of the booklet roughly coincides with the relocation of the Vietnam War memorial from Collis to the Zahn Courtyard outside the Hopkins Center, where it joins memorials for World War II and the Korea War.

The Hill Winds Know Their Name initially will be available through the Alumni Relations and Public Affairs offices with other distribution points to be added later, Johnson said.