The Veterans Memorial in Gallup honors those who served from the Gallup area. Photograph by Gabriella Marks.
FOURTEEN ILLUMINATED POSTS LINE A WALKWAY honoring military veterans from the Gallup area. One name appears singly, Medal of Honor winner Hiroshi Miyamura, while others are in groupings that, for some wars, wrap around all four sides. Martimiano Rodriguez. Joe Miller. Guido Zecca. Cowboys who served as Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. Young men who endured the Bataan Death March. Navajo Code Talkers who helped win World War II. Carl Gorman. Chester Nez. Peter McDonald. In 2013, Rand McNally named Gallup the most patriotic small town in America. Most Memorial Days, the adjacent Courthouse Square Plaza fills with veterans and their loved ones. George Quigg. Richard Whittington. Dan “The Man” Gutierrez. Thousands of names stand sentry, with more added to include ongoing clashes and those who will never come home. Celestino Chavez. Luther Anderson Ghahate. Eddie C. Cinniginnie. “It’s beautiful at night,” says Air Force veteran Ken Riege. “The pillars are lit up. The trees have little white lights in them. This is all about people who wanted to do something bigger than themselves.”
The Veterans Memorial sits in front of the McKinley County Courthouse, 207 W. Hill St., Gallup.