One of my students and a former student who is currently stationed near there have both recently sent me photos of memorials at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"Iron Mike"

Vietnam

Global War on Terror

"328th Rock" (First World War)

a memorial to an individual soldier, Francisco "Marty" Martinez

These memorials make a study in what one might call "internal" military memorialization. All the memorials are on the base, accessable to civilians only after passing the controls at the gate. They represent how the military presents itself to itself. The use of military insignia, acronyms and badges on the memorials mark them much like a uniform marks the living soldier with certain attributes which are earned and then worn as an outward indicator. The names are given with military ranks, something untypical for local town or church memorials. To an even greater extent than in other memorials, the dead are kept in their service identity.

The memorial to the fallen airborne infantrymen from the "Global War on Terror" (shown above) is interesting in that the name of the war also indicates a justification for the fallen. It contrasts with other memorials which are for conflicts which require additional justification - for example for "freedom" in the case of the Fort Bragg Vietnam War linked here.