The Llano County Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the historic Llano County Historical Courthouse in Llano, Texas. This memorial commemorates those who served and died in Korea and Vietnam.

 

The main inscription reads: "Dedicated to those who died in service as well as the veterans who returned home, to the families who suffered and to the nation that now finds time to remember".

 

The inscription on the left side of the memorial is dedicated to Medal of Honor Recipient Whitt Lloyd Moreland, U.S.M.C. He was born on March 7, 1930, in Waco, Texas, and was raised in Austin. He played football at Junction High School in Junction, Texas, for two years before graduating in 1948.

Moreland joined the Marine Corps in September 1948, at Austin. After a year of service in San Diego and Camp Pendleton, California, he was discharged. Moreland enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve upon his discharge, and was called to active duty on November 30, 1950. He was assigned as a Private First Class and intelligence scout to Company C, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, and deployed to Korea.

On May 29, 1951, Moreland volunteered to accompany a rifle platoon on an assault on enemy positions located on a hillside near Kwagch'i-Dong. The platoon took the enemy position and Moreland volunteered to lead a group to attack a bunker he observed a short distance away. They moved through heavy fire along a ridgeline toward the bunker, only to come under a grenade attack as they closed in. Moreland rushed to kick several grenades off the ridge, so that they could explode harmlessly downhill from the group. While attempting to kick an additional grenade, Moreland slipped and fell. Moreland shouted a warning to his fellow soldiers and covered the grenade with his body, absorbing the blast and saving the soldiers around him.

For his courageous actions, Moreland was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor was presented to his parents in Austin on July 19, 1951. Moreland is buried next to his parents at the Whittington Cemetery, his mother's family cemetery, in Mount Ida, Arkansas.

(Text courtesy of Texas State Cemetery.state.tx.us)

 

The right side of the memorial has an inscription for Corporal Michael D. Bird, U.S.A. who lost his life in Vietnam.

 

Another view of the memorial, the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars on Terror Memorial is seen in the background.

 

The Llano County Veterans Memorial, the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars on Terror Memorial (left) and the Llano County Historic Courthouse in Llano, Texas.

 

"Memorial Row" an overview of the Llano County Memorials on the grounds of the historic Llano County Courthouse in Llano, Texas. The memorials all face Ford street in front of the courthouse.
1. World War 1 Memorial.
2. World War 2 Honor Roll (alongside the World War 1 Memorial).
3. Desert Storm Troops Monument.
4. World War 2 Veterans Memorial.
5. Wars on Terror Memorial.
6. Veterans Memorial (Korea and Vietnam).
7. Confederate Soldier Memorial.

(All photos © 2009 Michael W. Pocock
and MaritimeQuest all rights reserved)