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Indianapolis' Dedication To Veterans Centers On Downtown Monument

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The Soldiers and Sailors Monument stands in Indianapolis in August 1947. (AP Photo)
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument stands in Indianapolis in August 1947. (AP Photo)

This story was reported during our election road trip to states across the country ahead of the 2018 midterms. Check out all of our election coverage.


The Soldiers and Sailors Monument rises 284 feet above Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

You can take an elevator to the top, or you can trudge up the 331 steps. Either way, the view is worth the trip.

Down on the ground, the sidewalk around the monument is marked by bricks with the names of veterans. On Wednesday, a ceremony honored retired Brig. Gen. J. Stewart Goodwin, the executive director of the Indiana War Memorials Commission, with a new brick.

Goodwin says Indianapolis devotes more public space to honor veterans than any other city.

"We understand that only 1 out of 10 people who live in our country today have served, so we call it the '90-10 rule,' " he says. "We think it's time for the 90 percent to learn about what the 10 percent did, and what we're gonna tell you about are ordinary Hoosiers that have done extraordinary things."

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was originally designed to honor the more than 24,000 Indiana soldiers who died during the Civil War, including Pvt. John Williams of Portland, Indiana, who was the last Union soldier to perish in the conflict.

This segment aired on September 13, 2018.

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Alex Ashlock Producer, Here & Now
Alex Ashlock was a producer for Here & Now since 2005. He started his WBUR career as senior producer of Morning Edition in 1998.

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