Veterans memorial in Hannibal to be dedicated Nov. 6

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Hannibal’s veterans memorial will be dedicated at a ceremony at 2 p.m. Nov. 6 at Cardiff Hill Overlook Park, the location of the old Mark Twain Memorial Bridge approach.

A procession of the American Legion Color Guard will be followed by the singing of the national anthem by Rachel Bringer-Shepherd. Veterans Service Committee chair Pansy Kolb will introduce the dignitaries and the main speaker, Ret. Maj. Jim Miller. A 21-gun salute will be followed by Taps, played by Tanner Scholes and Noah Krisko. Members of the 9239 Daisy Troop will hand out flags.

The veterans memorial project has been organized by the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department and the Veterans Service Committee. 

Fundraising for the project began in 2018. About 380 bricks honoring veterans have been ordered and will be installed as a pathway around the memorial. Each brick has the name of a veteran, purchased by their loved ones for $125. Additional donors of $500 or more will be listed on a plaque adjacent to the memorial. Information for bricks and donations are available at www.hannibalparks.org.

The memorial includes a bell from the USS Hannibal, which the U.S. Navy built in 1898. The craft was used in World Wars I and II and the Spanish-American War. The ship was decommissioned in 1944 and sunk off coast of Virginia and made into a reef. Even though the ship was named after the general, not the city, the Navy sent the city of Hannibal the bell in the late 1940s. The bell was in Kiwanis Park for years.