veterans memorial park
about the park
A place to honor our fallen heroes
Veterans Memorial Park graces the fields adjacent to Interstate 295 in Delaware, just south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The Park is maintained by the Delaware River & Bay Authority, a bi-state agency responsible for the operation of key transportation systems linking Delaware and New Jersey, including the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Both the Bridge and Park are forever linked in history - dedicated five years apart from each other to honor our nation's war sacrifices in World War II and the Korean War. For more information, please read about our history below.
The Park is one of 68 in the U.S. and its territories designated by the National Veterans Day Committee in Washington D.C. to hold official annual ceremonies for both Veterans Day and Memorial Day. It is not uncommon for services here to be attended by U.S. Presidents, Governors, and regional and state dignitaries as they pay their respects on behalf of the nation and our region.
The Park is free and open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. It has free parking, but no public amenities are available. We invite you to visit whenever you are in the area and only ask that you respect the solemnity of the Park at all times.
"Veterans Memorial Park serves as a place of remembrance and reflection, honoring the lives of our state's heroes."
GOV. John Carney, DElaware
[2012 as US. Congressman at the redEDICATION of walls of remembrance]
WHERE WE ARE
War Memorial Plaza
163 Cherry Lane
New Castle, DE 19720
The park is located on the Delaware side of the bridge off the north bound lanes heading to New Jersey.
how the park got started
original memorial
The Delaware Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Delaware River to connect the States of Delaware and New Jersey, was completed in 1951 with one span. At the time it was the 6th largest suspension bridge in the world and was considered a monument to human achievement. Yet, all agreed it paled in comparison to the sacrifices and achievements of our troops still fighting abroad. It was named a Memorial bridge to memorialize those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in WWll and in the then-ongoing battles of the Korean War.
The Park visionary
Garrett E. Lyons, head of the Delaware Insterstate Highway Division (DIHD), had the vision to create a public park adjacent to the Delaware Memorial Bridge just a bit south of the bridge. The DIHD was the predecessor agency to the Delaware River & Bay Authority, and Lyons spearheaded construction of the first span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in 1951. He then facilitated the acquisition of 40 acres of land from the Diocese of Wilmington for a future public park near the bridge. Five years later, the land would be dedicated as War Memorial Park and six years after that, in 1962, the Delaware River & Bay Authority was created by a compact between NJ and DE to take over operations of the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Park.
park dedication
The Park was dedicated on October 20, 1956. Dignitaries from around the region including the Governors of both New Jersey and Delaware came to pay their respects to the new Memorial that alphabetically listed the names of all New Jersey and Delaware Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in World War ll and the recently concluded Korean War. The woman in white with the white service cap represented Gold Star Families at the Park years before a Gold Star Monument would be constructed.
more about the park
SErvices
Monuments
