Concho Valley Group Gathering Names for World War II Memorial in Rio Concho Park

A group of organizers are collecting and verifying names of Concho Valley World War II veterans for a new memorial.

The memorial will be built and placed in Rio Concho Park and will honor the service and sacrifice of those who served in World War II from San Angelo and the surrounding area.

Members of the organizing committee and San Angelo city officials broke ground on the memorial near the convention center in June 2024.

Organizers had asked the public to help identify thousands of World War II veterans with connections to San Angelo and the surrounding area.

They initially expected to receive about 10,000 to 12,000 names, but the response has been larger than anticipated, said Mason Brooks, vice president of development for the San Angelo Area Foundation.

“We are in the process of gathering the names,” Brooks said. “If you served in World War II and had a connection to San Angelo, I was raised here, I retired here, I spent my whole life here outside of the military, whatever that means. We want your name on the memorial.”

Brooks said that the group is also verifying names and removing duplicates before the final memorial is built and erected.