Dennis Smith - Veteran's Memorial Sculpture

Veteran's Memorial Bronze Statue
Highland City Cemetery, Highland, Utah

Sculptor Dennis Smith with his model for the Veteran's Memorial
www.smithsculpture.com

A Veteran's Memorial Bronze Statue has been erected in the new Highland City Cemetery in Highland, Utah. The statue, honoring all veterans, depicts 303rd Bomb Group's Lt Harold W. "Hal" Gunn on Hitler's Death March. Lt Gunn, copilot on the 358th BS Ray Jess Crew, was shot down on his 11th Combat Mission (22 June 1943 mission #43 to Huls, Germany). The bronze depicts an incident on Hitler's Death March where Lt Gunn and a friend, Lt Dee Butler, saved the life of Woodrow (Woody) Morgan. Woody was a Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot and fellow POW. While on the March, Hal and Dee noticed that their companion was missing. Strong men were dropping in the deep snow from exhaustion and exposure. Hal found Woody asleep in a grove of trees where he would have frozen to death if he had stayed much longer. Hal and Dee picked him up and dragged him along the trail with the other prisoners until he was fully revived and had the strength to walk on his own. The Bronze depicts Lt Hal Gunn holding up his friend Woody, with the assistance of an angel from heaven above and his grandson, Cory Cosgrave, who would be born some 45 years later.

The Veteran's Memorial Bronze Statue is the result of the Eagle Scout Project of Hal Gunn's grandson Cory Cosgrave. The work of the artist, engraver and landscaper were all donated. The Memorial was dedicated on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2003. The photos below show the work in progress.

- click on the photos for larger images -

Miniature Clay Model
Assembling the Pieces
Work in Progress