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Lee and Karen Duquette
spent time during the day at the Ola Lee Mize Patriots Park
1500 Noccalula Road
in front of the Festival Grounds
in Gadsden, Alabama
March 14, 2026
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Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S.
State of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about 56 miles northeast
of Birmingham, 90 miles southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 72
Miles Southeast of Huntsville. It is the primary city of the Gadsden
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In the 19th century, Gadsden was Alabama's second-most
important center of commerce and industry, trailing only the seaport of
Mobile. The two cities were important shipping centers: Gadsden for riverboats
and Mobile for international trade.
From the late 19th century through the 1980s, Gadsden was
a center of heavy industry, including the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
and Republic Steel. In 1991, following more than a decade of sharp decline
in industry, Gadsden was awarded the honor of All-America City by the
National Civic League. |
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Below: The Ola
Lee Mize Patriots Park is on the Festival Grounds and is a tribute to
the USA's military personnel. This was a free area to walk through and
enjoy, located just outside of the Noccalula Falls Park and Festival. |
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This area is a tribute to the
county's Veterans who lost their lives in combat. It features a Medal
of Honor Monument for Colonel Ola Lee Mize, a Green Beret who served in
the Korean War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
It is adjacent to Noccalula Falls Park which adds to its natural beauty
and historical importance. It is a place where Veterans and everyone else
can come together to pay their respects and remember those who have served.
So this is why Lee and Karen Duquette, who are also military veterans,
came here. |
THE COLONEL OLA LEE MIZE ETOWAH
COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL |
Below: Views from the front and
back sides of the monument |
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Below: Photos of the individual
plaques located on the monument shown above. |
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Below: Etowah County Vietnam
Veterans Monument |
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Below: Dedicated to Those
Who Served |
Below: Dedicated to the Order of the Purple
Heart |
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The park also has a ship's propeller,
an American Legion monument, two anchors, an M1 57 antitank gun, an M3
37 MM antitank gun that serve as a reminder of the scarifies made by veterans
and the ongoing commitment to honor their memory, |
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Below: Monument in Honor of
WWI, WWII, The Korean War, POW-MIA, Iraq-Afghanistan |
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