VetPlaza

Hill Country SUN

By Allan C. Kimball
Thousands of veterans’ memorials exist across the United States, most honoring members of the U.S. Armed Forces who lost their lives in various conflicts. The Veterans Memorial Plaza in Wimberley is one of the few that honors all veterans. And it’s become a sacred place.
“This place honors all those who were killed, who were wounded, who served, who still serve,” says Rodger Parker, director of the plaza and the man who thought up the idea.
Rodger began drumming up support for his memorial concept in 2006 and ground was broken on a hilltop on the EmilyAnn Theatre grounds on November 11, 2006—Veterans’ Day. The plaza was dedicated in April 2007 “to honor, educate, and inspire.”
The Wimberley Veterans Memorial Plaza recognizes all of the men and women who served, and still serve, our nation in times of war and peace. More than 25 million Americans are veterans and more than 1.5 million men and women are on active duty in the U.S. military today.
The U.S. flag and Texas flag fly in the center of the landscaped plaza. Flags of each of the armed services—Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard—and the POW/MIA flag, surround them. Connecting the flag locations are Walkways of Honor with bricks that can be inscribed with the names of individuals who have served our country in the military.
“It’s important to honor all vets and the memorial bricks get that honor down to each individual,” Rodger explains.
He says the memorial grew out of a need to honor these heroes and to develop a better understanding of the sacrifices they made for the United States and to underscore the community’s responsibility for the future.
“I saw a vision of what this could be and it turned out much better than I could have imagined,” Rodger says. “It took on a life of its own. The Wimberley community embraced it and individuals and various organizations contributed money and labor and we got it done.”
The plaza is located on one of the highest hills in Wimberley, providing visitors with commanding views of the scenic valley.
The hilltop location—adjacent to another memorial honoring children in the community who have died—has become a sacred place in Wimberley.
“It is sacred ground. I’ve always felt that way,” says Norm Rolling, chaplain and workhorse for the EmilyAnn Theatre.
Norm and Ann Rolling lost their 16-year-old daughter Emily in an automobile accident and started the hillside amphitheater in her honor in 1998. The community embraced that project, expanding the theater and surrounding grounds.
“Wimberley is an unusual community. The level of volunteerism here is amazing,” Rodger says. “And this was the right project at the right time in the right place. This location speaks to people.”
“I stand up here on this hill and look across to Prayer Mountain and I can see God with one foot on our hill and one foot on that one, protecting our whole valley,” Norm says. “Adding the Veterans Memorial added to the sacredness.”
Both Norm and Rodger tell stories of people visiting the plaza, sitting on one of the benches and contemplating, their eyes often filled with tears.
“Tears are common up here,” Norm says. “It happens all the time.”
The hilltop memorial is cathartic.
“People come up here laughing and cutting up, and when they find out what this is, their attitude changes. They get solemn,” Rodger says. “They see the flags and see the hills and the valley. It’s wonderful. It’s sacred. It takes people’s breath away.”
The Wimberley VFW post switched its main Memorial Day ceremony from the cemetery to the Vet Memorial because the plaza is a place of honor while the cemetery is a place of repose, Rodger explains.
“People need a place like this and cemeteries aren’t the place,” Norm says.
A major goal of the Veterans Memorial is to provide a learning environment where children will be able to understand the roles that these men and women have played in the securing of their freedoms.
Many veterans who have been reluctant to speak of their service tend to open up to their friends and family when they visit the plaza, Rodger says.
“History comes alive that way,” he says.
Other ways for that education to happen are in the planning stages—brochures, a classroom, and a library and museum. And a Junior Flag Team has just been formed.
A sign explaining what the hilltop plaza is should be in place in time for Memorial Day. Soon, a plaque will be placed near the plaza entrance that will memorialize the oath of service to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” every armed service member takes.
“This hilltop is the place for Wimberley to remember its people, from its children to its veterans, and to look out and be reminded of all those we love who live here,” Norm says.
FYI • Memorial bricks on the Walkways of Honor range in price from $100 to $400. For more information on the Wimberley Veterans Memorial Plaza, call the EmilyAnn Theatre at 512-847-6969 or visit the web site at www.emilyann.org/veterans.cfm.

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