Military Police Honored At The Memorial Grove
The Regimental Walkway Offers A Glimpse of Military Police Who Served The Country Through Monuments And Ornate Statuary
Memorial Grove stands within the Ft Leonard Wood military base, just outside of St. Robert, Missouri, as a monument to the Military Police and their history. The Grove gives visitors a small glimpse of some of the groups and individuals who served as MPs through the memorial benches, plaques and memorial bricks with the names of MPs past and present that can be found throughout the park's walkway, nestled within the mature oak trees scattered throughout. However, Fort Leonard Wood was not the original home of the Grove. That distinction belongs to Fort Gordon, Georgia, which at the time was the location of the MP school. It then moved, with all the memorial plaques that existed at that time, to Ft McCellan. Then finally, in 1999, Memorial Grove was moved one more time to its permanent home (including the plaques visible on the brick wall as you enter the Grove), at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where the MP school now resides.
In walking throughout the Grove, visitors will notice personalized bricks in the sidewalk. According to Beth Bellery, executive assistant of the MPRA, “the Military Police Regimental Association began selling bricks to honor soldiers in 2006”, both living and passed, with the first bricks set in place at the Memorial Grove in August/September of 2007. Bellery continues, “in 2011, it was decided to make sure that all MP KIA's (killed in action) dating from WWI were to be honored in the grove with a brick. The list began at 689 names.” However Beth states that, sadly the list grows yearly now, with MPs who have been killed in current conflicts.
Upon arrival to Memorial Grove, the very first thing that visitors will notice is the statuary. 3 large bronzes, all masterfully created by James Hall of J H Creations lead into the gateway of the grove which features the Cross Pistols, which is the symbol of the Military Police. Set and dedicated in 2008, this is called the “Gateway to the Regiment”, where the “Rites of Passage” are performed. In the “Rites of Passage”, after 19 weeks of training and 1 week before graduation, soldiers both earn their regimental crest and learn about its meaning with the ceremony taking place directly in the grove. The soldiers enter and then exiting under the Cross Pistols. It is said that these men and women “walk in as soldiers and come out as MPs”.
The second statue installed is called “Of the Troops and for the Troops”. Set in place and dedicated in 2010, this 10ft tall bronze depicts a WWII era MP. The final statue of the trio, recently set and dedicated in September of 2016, is “Marechaussee on Horseback”, which was based on an original piece of art commissioned by the MPRA in 2004 by Rick Reeves called “Dawn of the Regiment”. Historically Marechaussee is actually the “original” MP, and dates back to the Revolutionary War days, to George Washington.
According to an article about the statuary, which can be seen on the Pulaski County Website: “General Washington requested that the Provost Marshall position be created to handle the Continental Army’s disciplinary issues. William Maroney was tapped to fulfill the newly created staff position in January, 1776. During the Spring of 1778, Congress established the Provost Corps. General Washington referred to these troops as the “Marechaussee”, a French term used to describe a local guard force, or, loosely, the constabulary. The Marechaussee Corps would be formed exclusively as a police organization. Organized and equipped as light dragoons, they utilized their speed to aid in troop movements and in moving prisoners from the battlefield. The Marechaussee protected the Army’s rear and flanks during troop movements, searched for stragglers, guarded river crossings, and engaged in combat when needed.” The title of Military Police Corps Regiment or MP, as we know these troops today, wasn't officially established until 1941.
One final interesting note about the Grove is that there is a single covert, (near the bench pictured), and some stonework by the WWII statue, that was the work of German POWs who were at Ft. Leonard Wood during WWII. It seems to be a strange, but somehow fitting addition to the history of the Grove itself.
Kim Pezza
A graduate of State University Of New York At Fredonia with a BA in Creative Writing, Kim is an author for Hatherleigh Press [Random House] and Seaside Publishing. She enjoys camping, cheese making and historic crafts.
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