Florida's Fallen Memorial

There are over 400 crosses and Stars of David, representing Floridians who have died in military service to our Country since September 11, 2001.  These markers have names, military branch, rank, hometown, casualty date, age, photographs, and awards. 

Flags for the main branches of our military and large crosses representing the conflicts of American history, the dates of those conflicts, and the total number of lives lost are also part of this Memorial.

A special tribute is also included for our servicemembers who may be home but are still fighting their battles.

A K-9 tribute is also included.

3 - Medals of Honor (Army)

1 - Navy Cross (scroll down)

1 - Distinguished Flying Cross

87 - Silver Stars (scroll down)

60 - Bronze Stars

37 - Purple Heart Recipients

6 – SEAL Tridents

11 - Special Forces Tabs

9 - Ranger Tabs

3 - Special Forces & Ranger Tabs

4 - 53rd Infantry Division patches

3 -Marine Special Operations patches

293 - KIA

  The Memorial was originally designed and developed by Jim Vanderbleek who envisioned crosses to honor the Florida soldiers who have died while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has since grown to include Florida servicemembers serving throughout the world after that horrible day in September.

 To the men and women of our armed forces, to all of the Gold Star parents,

we said we would never forget you. We said we would always honor you.

We said we would thank you for all you have done for our Freedom. 

Have we?

In March of 2010 a small church in St. Petersburg, Florida, came together with a group of men, women and children to erect a tribute to say…

Thank you!  

We have not forgotten you!

We appreciate you and we love you!

On Memorial Day 2010, a small token of our appreciation was erected on the

lawn of Northeast Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg as our way to remind others…we will never forget those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to their fellow Americans.

This small tribute has captured the hearts of thousands in many communities across Florida.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you…Jesus Christ, who died for your soul, and the American Servicemember who died for your freedom.

Since 2001 over 400 Floridians have paid the ultimate price. 

This Memorial

is for you and your families.

Thank you!  

2020 to present

May-June

The Oviedo Cemetery

Oviedo Memorial  Post 243

The American Legion

2019

May

Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, Oviedo

September

Run for the Fallen, Apollo Beach

2018

May

Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, Oviedo

October

Run for the Fallen, Tampa Veterans Park

2017

May

Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, Oviedo

September

Run for the Fallen, Tampa Veterans Park

2016

May

Lawton House, Oviedo

July

Northeast Presbyterian Church,

 St. Petersburg

September

Run for the Fallen, Tampa Veterans Park

2015

May

Lawton House, Oviedo

July

Northeast Presbyterian Church, 

St. Petersburg

September

Run for the Fallen, Tampa Veterans Park

2014

May

Lawton House, Oviedo

July

Northeast Presbyterian Church,

 St. Petersburg

July

Warrior Walk, 

Lakeland First Presbyterian Church

September

Run for the Fallen, Tampa Veterans Park

2013

May

Lawton House, Oviedo

July

Warrior Walk, 

Lakeland First Presbyterian Church

Fall

Run for the Fallen, Riverview

2012

May

Northeast Presbyterian Church, 

St. Petersburg

July

Warrior Walk, 

Lakeland First Presbyterian Church

Fall

Run for the Fallen, Apollo Beach

2011

May

Northeast Presbyterian Church, 

St. Petersburg

July

Warrior Walk, 

Lakeland First Presbyterian Church

Fall

Run for the Fallen, Apollo Beach

2010

May

Northeast Presbyterian Church, 

St. Petersburg

  The Military Support Team (MST) of the First United Methodist Church of Oviedo (FUMCO) became involved with a Gold Star family here in Oviedo in 2012. They had just learned of their loved one’s passing while on deployment in Afghanistan. A strong bond was immediately formed between MST’s Liz Whitley and the wife and teenage children of the fallen soldier.

The following year the family invited the MST to participate in “Run for the Fallen” in Tampa as they had put a group together to honor their fallen family member. At the site of the 5K/10K run, Jim Vanderbleek was displaying the incredible tribute he had created, Florida’s Fallen Memorial (FFM). MST knew immediately we had to do whatever it took to have the Memorial in Oviedo. Liz invited Jim to come speak at one of our MST meetings and the rest is history!

Jim agreed to come the next Memorial Day with the crosses and we first hosted this event in 2013 on the grounds of the historic Lawton House in downtown Oviedo. We were able to work with the City of Oviedo and then Fire Chief Lars White to provide a very meaningful Memorial Day ceremony. By this time our Gold Star family’s fallen soldier was included in the nearly 400 crosses in the Memorial.  A very moving highlight that first year was the soldier’s son’s participation and involvement with the crosses as his Eagle Scout project and as a fitting tribute to his father.

For the next three years the Memorial was again at the Lawton House. Our Gold Star family also continued its involvement culminating with the daughter of the soldier earning Girl Scout’s highest honor, the Gold Award, for her special project associated with the crosses.

It is a significant effort to host the crosses and by 2017 MST handed over duties to Most Precious Blood Catholic Church in Oviedo. They carried the torch for 3 years and in 2020, Oviedo’s American Legion Memorial Post 243 stepped up to carry on the tradition indefinitely.

As a member of FUMCO’s MST I am forever grateful the Post has chosen to make the Memorial a priority and will now be the “Keepers of the Crosses”, keeping these fallen comrades in the forefront and helping the community to remember the true meaning of Memorial Day. May they never be forgotten for their ultimate sacrifice.

Please take some time to look for our neighbors in the Memorial this year

Laura A Alford

USN Petty Officer

Oviedo

16 May 2004

21 years old

Theodore A Bowling

USMC Corporal

Casselberry

11 Nov 2004

25 years old

Charles Buehring

USA Lieutenant Colonel

Winter Springs

26 Oct 2003

40 years old

Alwyn C Cashe

Medal of Honor

Bronze Star

USA Sergeant First Class

Oviedo

8 Nov 2005

35 years old

Timothy R Creager

USMC Lance Corporal

Geneva

7 Jul 2004

21 years old

Floyd EC Holley

USMC Gunnery Sergeant

Casselberry

29 Aug 2010

36 years old

Bruce A MacFarlane

Bronze Star

USA Captain

Oviedo

6 Jul 2012

46 years old

Robert J Miller

Medal of Honor

Bronze Star

USA Staff Sergeant

Oviedo

25 Jan 2008

24 years old

Olivia Mulligan

USA Specialist

Oviedo

19 Oct 2019

20 years old

Christopher R Nogle

USA Major

Oviedo

23 Dec 2018

35 years old

Brenden N Salazar

Bronze Star

USA Specialist

Chuluota

22 Jul 2012

20 years old

 Service members don’t serve alone. In 2015, there was a reported total of 1,728,710 family members who served alongside their Active-Duty service member. Of that number, there were 1,076,803 children and 641,639 spouses. Whether you live in a prevalent military community or not, chances are you know a family member of someone that serves in the Armed Forces.  

What is a Gold Star Family?

A Gold Star Family is the immediate family member(s) of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict.

How to Recognize a Gold Star Family

A Gold Star Family can display a Gold Star Service Flag for servicemembers who were killed or died, while serving in the Armed Forces, from causes other than dishonorable.  The number of gold stars on the flag corresponds to the number of individuals who were killed or died. 

A gold star is placed over the blue star on a Blue Star Service Flag so that the blue forms a border and creates a Gold Star Service Flag.  The US Department of Defense also issues lapel pins to immediate family members of a fallen service member of the military. These pins are worn by spouses, parents and children of service members killed in the line of duty and contain a gold star on a purple circular background.

 What is a Blue Star Family?

A Blue Star Family consists of the immediate family member(s) of a service member during a time of conflict.

 How to Recognize a Blue Star Family

A Blue Star Family can display a Blue Star Service Flag. The number of blue stars on the flag corresponds to with the number of individuals who currently serve in the Armed Forces from that immediate family.

 What You Can Do

Since the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have been ongoing for many years, people forget too soon the meaning of Blue and Gold Star Families. By recognizing the significance of a Blue or Gold Star Service Flag and a Gold Star lapel pin you can honor those who have survived, whether it’s a parent, spouse, or child. This knowledge and recognition is important to honor the families of the Fallen and those who are deployed.

The Memorial also honors our War Dogs in a special location this year.  War Dogs are an instrumental part of military teams and you can learn more by visiting this link and watching a short video with former Navy SEAL, Will Chesney.

Some of our service members' wounds may not be visible.  We honor those struggling with PTSD in this special location, as well.  To find out how you can help someone you know who may have PTSD, please visit this link.

Unfortunately some may not get the help they need and are part of the painful "22 a Day" statistic.  We also honor those who may have lost their battle or are still fighting their demons.  For awareness information and available programs please visit this link.

Ultimately, there are many other issues that are thankfully being recognized and addressed under the Mental Health umbrella.  To get help now please visit this link.

  While visiting some cemeteries you may notice that headstones marking certain graves have coins on them, left by visitors to the grave. The tradition of leaving coins on the headstones of military

men and women can be traced as far back as the Roman Empire.

These coins have distinct meaning when left on the headstones of those who gave their life while serving in America’s military, and these meanings vary depending on the denomination of the coin. A coin left on a headstone or at a grave site is meant as a message to the deceased service member’s family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect.

According to tradition, the money left at graves in national cemeteries and state veterans’ cemeteries is eventually collected and funds are put toward maintaining the cemetery or paying burial costs for indigent veterans.

Leaving a penny means that you visited.

A nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together.

A dime means you served with them in some capacity.

By leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the

service member when they were killed.

In the US, this practice became common during the Vietnam war, due to the political divide in the country over war. Leaving a coin was seen as a more practical way to communicate that you had visited the grave rather than contacting the service member’s family, which could devolve into an uncomfortable argument over politics relating to the war.  Some Vietnam veterans leave coins as a “down payments” to buy their fallen comrades a beer or play a hand of cards when they will finally be reunited.

Funds collected from the Florida's Fallen Memorial go towards upkeep of the Memorial.  Other mementos left at the Memorial are kept and displayed at American Legion Memorial Post 243.

To donate without attending, please visit our Give page.

   Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit in WWI, spotted a cluster of poppies that spring, shortly after the Second Battle of Ypres. McCrae tended to the wounded and got a firsthand look at the carnage of that clash; a friend of McCrae’s, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was among the dead.

Struck by the sight of bright red blooms on broken ground, McCrae wrote a poem, “In Flanders Field,” in which he channeled the voice of the fallen soldiers buried under those hardy poppies. Published in Punch magazine in late 1915, the poem would be used at countless memorial ceremonies, and became one of the most famous works of art to emerge from the Great War. Its fame had spread far and wide by the time McCrae himself died, from pneumonia and meningitis, in January 1918.

Across the Atlantic, a woman named Moina Michael read “In Flanders Field” in the pages of Ladies’ Home Journal that November, just two days before the armistice. A professor at the University of Georgia at the time the war broke out, Michael had taken a leave of absence to volunteer at the New York headquarters of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), which trained and sponsored workers overseas. Inspired by McCrae’s verses, Michael wrote her own poem in response, which she called “We Shall Keep Faith.”

In the United States, the tradition has developed a little differently than overseas. Americans don’t typically wear poppies on November 11 (Veterans Day), which honors all living veterans. Instead, they wear the symbolic red flower on Memorial Day—the last Monday in May—to commemorate the sacrifice of so many men and women who have given their lives fighting for their country.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~  

John McCrae

 We Shall Keep the Faith 

 Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet - to rise anew! We caught the torch you threw And holding high, we keep the Faith With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red That grows on fields where valor led; It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies, But lends a lustre to the red Of the flower that blooms above the dead In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red We wear in honor of our dead. Fear not that ye have died for naught; We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought In Flanders Fields.

~ 

Moina Michael