POOL OF TEARS VETERANS MEMORIAL
Maintenance, Upkeep, and Legacy Guidelines
HISTORY
MAINTENANCE AND CARE
Unveiled April 10, 2003, on National POW
Recognition Day, the Pool of Tears Veterans
Memorial cost $130,000 and was completed in
approximately eight months. Designed by Uvalde
artist Mike Scovel, the memorial is labeled the City
of Temple “Pool of Tears” Veterans Memorial. The
inscription was written by parks planner Kim
Mettenbrink and edited by parks officials. Funding
came from the City of Temple ($45,000) for
sculptures, the Texas Department of Transportation
($68,100), and from donations by individuals and the
business community to the Temple Parks Foundation
($16,500). The memorial was dedicated on Memorial
Day, May 26, 2003.
In accordance with City of Temple Code of
Ordinances, the memorial is property of the City of
Temple. The Parks & Recreation Department is
caretaker of the memorial, which includes the
responsibility to fund and provide in-house or
contracted services to upkeep, maintain, seasonally
clean, and to initiate timely repairs. It is incumbent
upon the City to maintain adequate funding to keep the
memorial equipment operational and well-maintained
and to be capable to increase maintenance services
ahead of special honorary calendar events such as
Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
SYMBOLISM
The 21-foot memorial represents a bugler,
kneeling after honoring a fallen comrade by playing
“Taps.” At the other end, standing in the center of a
long “reflecting pool,” a weeping young boy stands,
saluting the soldier, and holding a folded United
States flag under his arm. Names of the regional
servicemembers who had fallen during times of war
were inscribed in the center of three granite blocks.
Surrounding the bugler and inset into a wall that
contains insignias of the five branches of the military
as well as the POW/MIA insignia. On the memorial is
an inscription that reads. “The Sacrifice and
Endurance of Those Who Have Served, And the Ones
Who Loved Them, Captures Our Hearts, Abides In
Our Minds, And Protects Our Very Existence.”
PURPOSE
The purpose of the memorial is to honor those that
have given their lives in defense of freedom through
their service in the armed forces in times of conflict. It
serves as a place for admiration and comfort for
military, veterans, their families, citizens, and visitors
to the City of Temple. This place of remembrance
displays the names of those from the region who have
paid the ultimate price in the defense of our freedoms.
INSCRIPTIONS OF THE FALLEN
When erected, the memorial listed the names of
fallen servicemembers of World War I, World War
II, Korea, and Vietnam who had various connections
to Temple, Bell County, Texas, and the United
States. Also included were the inscriptions of the
names of regional servicemembers who had fallen
while in service overseas participating in the Global
War on Terror up to 2007. In continuation of that
tradition, future fallen servicemembers from the
region who die in service to the nation in an
approved declared hostile zone, a veteran’s name
may be eligible for addition to the memorial after a
nomination has been made and a recommendation
from representatives of the Veteran population has
been received.
NOMINATION PROCESS
Any U.S. citizen may nominate a fallen
servicemember who had regional ties to Bell County
or Temple, TX. Nominations forms will be prepared
in written format and submitted to __________. The
city may choose to consult with the Veteran
community through and in collaboration with the
Temple Chamber of Commerce Military Relations
Committee, to endorse the qualifications of a
nominated individual. Veteran committees will only
make recommendations or provide advice to the City,
however ultimate and final approvals to inscribe a
name rest with the designated City of Temple
official(s).
Pool of Tears Veterans Memorial Maintenance, Upkeep, and Legacy Guidelines, v3, dated March 23, 2022
POOL OF TEARS VETERAN NOMINATION FORM
SPONSOR (PERSON NOMINATING):
Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Relationship: ____________________________________________________________________
Phone: _________________________________________________________________________
Email: _________________________________________________________________________
VETERAN:
Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Rank & Branch of Service: _________________________________________________________
Connection to Temple, TX: _________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Circumstances: ___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Comments: ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Nomination Process:
Any U.S. citizen may nominate a fallen servicemember who had regional ties to Bell County or
Temple, TX. Nominations forms will be prepared in written format and submitted to __________.
The city may choose to consult with the Veteran community through and in collaboration with the
Temple Chamber of Commerce Military Relations Committee, to endorse the qualifications of a
nominated individual. Veteran committees will only make recommendations or provide advice to
the City, however ultimate and final approvals to inscribe a name rest with the designated City of
Temple official(s).
You can drop this form by Temple Chamber of Commerce, or send completed form to:
Temple Chamber of Commerce
Attn; Military Relations Committee
201 Santa Fe Way Suite 105
Temple, TX 76501
Pool of Tears Veterans Memorial Maintenance, Upkeep, and Legacy Guidelines, v3, dated March 23, 2022