A Tribute to the Island's Heroes through the 20th-Century

Explore the rich military history of Galveston Island. Honoring American veterans who have called Galveston County home. Join us as we journey through the 20th century conflicts, visiting monuments and locations that pay tribute to the brave men and women who served, sacrificed, and left an indelible mark on the fabric of our nation's history.

Support the show

Galveston Unscripted Digital Market

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
In honor of all American veterans.
Galveston Island is no strangerto wars, battles and military
operations, from the UnitedStates Navy driving the pirate
Jean Le Fitt off of the islandin 1820, to battles of the Texas
Revolution and to the AmericanCivil War.
As we look back over the pasttwo centuries, the island holds

(00:20):
tales of resilience, sacrificeand honor that echo through our
history.
During the 20th century,galveston has been home to
military forts, air bases, navalshipbuilders and a Navy base,
and plenty of gun emplacementsto protect Galveston Bay and
Galveston Island, like Fort SanJacinto on the extreme east end
of the island and under the SanLuis Hotel, where massive gun

(00:43):
batteries can still be seenToday.
Our focus is on the Americanveterans who have called
Galveston Island and GalvestonCounty home, many of which left
to serve their country and neverreturned.
A tribute to the brave men andwomen who've donned the uniform,
faced adversity and fought forour country, many of which never
made it back home to GalvestonIsland.

(01:04):
I'm going to share with you afew locations and monuments
where you can pay your respectsto those who didn't make it back
home during the American Warsof the 20th century.
Let's start with World War I,world War I also known as the
Great War, was a global conflictthat lasted from July 1914 to
November 1918.
The countries of France, russiaand the United Kingdom were

(01:27):
fighting the aggressors Germany,austria, hungary and Italy.
The United States joined theconflict in 1917 due to
Germany's unfettered aggressionat sea, sinking any vessel that
wasn't allied with Germany, aswell as the interception of the
Zimmerman Telegram, an encodedtelegram sent from Germany to
Mexico urging Mexico to start awar with the United States.

(01:48):
That encoded telegram wasactually relayed to Mexico from
Galveston.
The United States was involvedin World War I from April 1917
to November 1918, and duringthat time over 4 million
Americans served in the armedforces.
Over 116,000 Americans losttheir lives, not only due to

(02:09):
combat but the harsh conditionsof trench warfare.
During World War I, 75Galvestonians lost their lives,
74 men and one woman.
A monument was dedicated tothose who lost their lives in
1927.
That monument can be found onthe seawall between 27th and
28th Street on the extreme southside of Menard Park.

(02:31):
World War II the Second WorldWar occurred between 1939 and
1945.
Another global conflict thatinvolved the majority of the
world's nations.
There were two opposingalliances, known as the Axis and
the Allies.
The Allies consisted of theUnited States, the United
Kingdom, the Soviet Union, china, france, canada, Australia, new

(02:54):
Zealand, india, south Africaand Poland.
The Axis powers consisted ofGermany, italy, japan, hungary,
romania, bulgaria and Finland,which was loosely associated.
World War II was significantfor the United States as America
was at war on two fronts, withJapan in the South Pacific and

(03:15):
Germany in Europe.
The United States joined WorldWar II in December of 1941 after
Japan bombed a naval base knownas Pearl Harbor located on the
island of Oahu, hawaii.
World War II.
World War II had more thantwice the amount of American
casualties over World War I.
Over 16 million Americansserved in the armed forces
during World War II, with over416,000 American casualties

(03:40):
throughout the four-yearconflict.
At the intersection of Broadwayand 23rd Street you can find a
monument dedicated to those wholost their lives during World
War II from Galveston County.
Well over 300 names ofGalveston County residents who
lost their lives during WorldWar II are listed on this
monument.
The next two conflicts weredirect results of the Cold War.

(04:01):
The Cold War was a geopoliticaland ideological standoff
between the United States andthe Soviet Union emerging in the
aftermath of World War II.
For the Cold War, the word coldreflects the absence of
large-scale direct warfare, butsignifies the persistent
tensions and proxy wars betweenthe two world superpowers.
The Korean War the Korean Waroccurred between 1950 and 1953.

(04:26):
A conflict between North Korea,supported by China, and the
Soviet Union, against SouthKorea, backed by the United
States.
The Korean War is also known asthe Forgotten War, as it was in
the middle of two majorconflicts World War II and the
Vietnam War.
Although nearly 6 millionAmericans served during the
Korean War, over 36,000Americans lost their lives

(04:48):
during the Korean War.
Galveston has a Korean WarMemorial dedicated to the 51 men
of Galveston County killedduring the conflict, located on
20th Street between Mechanic andMarket Street.
The Vietnam War the Vietnam Waroccurred between 1955 and 1975.
A prolonged conflict betweenNorth Vietnam, backed by the

(05:09):
communist forces of the SovietUnion and China, against South
Vietnam, supported by theanti-communist allies, primarily
the United States.
The war originated from thestruggle for control over
Vietnam and the ideologicaldivide between communism and
anti-communism during the ColdWar.
Nearly 9 million Americansserved in the armed forces

(05:30):
during the Vietnam conflict,with nearly 58,000 losing their
lives during that war.
A Vietnam War Memorial can befound at the Moody Gardens Hotel
on Hope Boulevard and JonesDrive.
The memorial honors 25Galveston County residents who
lost their lives during theVietnam conflict.
The largest and most interactivewar memorials of Galveston is

(05:53):
on Pelican Island, at SeawolfPark, at the Galveston Naval
Museum, where you'll find theUSS Cavala, a World War II
submarine, and the USS Stuart, aWorld War II destroyer escort
Both surviving relics of thelargest American war of the 20th
century and right in betweenthose vessels at Seawolf Park is
a veteran memorial.
You are able to tour andexplore these vessels and

(06:16):
experience, even for just alittle bit, what it was like to
live aboard a war vessel.
Desert Storm and Desert Shield,the last of the 20th century
American conflicts.
Desert Storm and Desert Shieldoccurred between 1990 and 1991,
two closely related militaryoperations conducted by a
coalition of nations led by theUnited States in response to

(06:37):
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in1990.
During my research, I was notable to find an official war
memorial in Galveston for DesertStorm and Desert Shield, which
is why I think it's importantnext time you come across
someone who served in the UnitedStates military to thank them
for their service.
As we conclude, I extend mydeepest gratitude to the brave

(06:59):
men and women who have servedand sacrificed for our nation.
To the veterans who, in theface of adversity, donned the
uniform of one of the UnitedStates military branches and
fought for the freedom we enjoytoday, I urge you to go out and
explore the monuments andlocations that honor Galveston's
rich military history and thebrave men and women from

(07:19):
Galveston County who neverreturned home.
We are reminded that thesestories of resilience, sacrifice
and honor are etched into thevery fabric of our nation.
These monuments stand not onlyas a tribute to those who didn't
make it back home, but astestaments to the enduring
spirit of those who served hereon Galveston Island.
As we walk in the footsteps ofhistory, we are confronted with

(07:41):
the profound impact of militaryaction on the course of our past
.
In the quiet contemplation ofthe World War I monument at
Menard Park, the names of thosewho were lost during World War
II engraved at the intersectionof Broadway and 23rd Street, or
the Korean War Memorial on 20thStreet, we are reminded that
history is not just a distanttale.

(08:01):
Venturing into Seawolf Park,where the USS Cavalla and USS
Stewart proudly stand, theVeteran Memorial at Seawolf Park
invites us to share a moment ofreflection, acknowledging the
sacrifices made aboard thesevessels during the largest
American war of the 20th century.
As we express our gratitude toall American veterans, I invite

(08:22):
you to join in on commemoratingtheir service to all of those
American veterans out there,those who fought for our country
and those who made the ultimatesacrifice.
Thank you for your service.