MISSION - To establish a garden to honor all of our nation's defenders who gave their lives not only in the defense of our country but also to bring freedom to many nations around the world. It is appropriate to establish the garden among Cleveland's Cultural Gardens since the people of many of the nations represented in the Cleveland Cultural Garden chain now enjoy their freedom due to the sacrifice of those to be honored here. It is also to be an expression of gratitude to their families, those who served with them and their families. This site will assure our current and future defenders, as well as their families, that their service and sacrifice and their contributions to preserving our culture and the cultures of the world will not be forgotten and will be cherished forever.

LOCATION - 710 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, near the Northernmost and West point of the Cleveland Cultural Garden Chain with a prominent view as well as an ample area to honor past and future generations of our nation's defenders and hold ceremonies in remembrance of their sacrifice.

APPROPRIATENESS OF THIS GARDEN AMONGST THE CULTURAL GARDENS - At Cleveland State University's website about the Cultural Gardens  www.culturalgardens.org , Professor Mark Tebeau best describes the synergistic fit:

"Why did we build this site about the Cleveland Cultural Gardens? Perhaps the world's first peace garden, the Gardens embody the history of twentieth-century America. They reveal the history of immigration to, and migration within, the United States. They comment on how we have built communities and constructed our identities as individuals and collectives. The gardens reveal the stories of the major conflicts that gave shape to the century: World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. They also provide insight into the large social, economic, political, and cultural upheavals that roiled through the nation during the last century: the Great Depression, suburbanization, the Civil Rights Movement, and the deindustrialization of America's industrial heartland. This is a story of hope and despair, joy and sadness, conflict and cooperation, growth and decline. The stones, paths, and memories of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens tell us what it has meant to be an American."
    -- Dr. Mark Tebeau, Department of History, Cleveland State University

CONCEPT -    click here for design presentation 

Words to be inscribed in the center monument will relay this message:

We will hold you dear forever
for the memory of your sacrifice
nurtures the spirit of our nation
and the hope for freedom
and peace throughout the world.
Your lives were the ultimate contributions
to the preservation of the cultures
expressed in these Cleveland Cultural Gardens.