Tippah County Memorial Veterans Park

Ripley, MS

A six-year-old dream comes true

It all began in 2015 when some members of Ripley American Legion Post 81 started trying to come up with a way to honor our living WWII veterans. The idea of a veterans park came up and a committee was organized to present a proposal to the City of Ripley. Little did we know at that time that the mayor shared our idea and already had a place in mind for the memorial. The city was in the process of constructing a sportsplex with multiple athletic fields, gymnasium, pavilion, walking tract, playgrounds and other facilities. The highest and most visible area within the sportsplex was the perfect place for the memorial. The board of alderman approved the designation of it for a veterans memorial in 2016. One of the first contacts for assistance was Bobby Martin, president of the People's Bank of Ripley, who has since passed away. The first priority was determining what we wanted as a memorial, and Martin made it possible for us to acquire an architectural firm, McCarty Architects, to design the memorial. After a series of meeting a final plan was agreed upon.
Then we began to tackle the job, raising the estimated $750,000 cost of implementing the plan.
We solicited donations, held fundraisers and sold brick pavers. The fundraising was proceeding slowly until our contacts with local legislators Rep. Jody Steverson and Sen. Rita Parks announced a grant had been secured from the state. The grant enabled us to advertise and get a contract of Worsham Brothers to construct the veterans park. Tippah County Veterans Memorial Park is one the most unique parks in the United States and was formally dedicated as part of our Veterans Day program Nov. 11, 2021, with six of our living WWII veterans present, and a final inspection Dec. 21, 2021.

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