Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
1111 S Main St.
GPS coordinates: 36.0417,-95.7906
Take a photo of your rally flag with the above image.

This memorial contains two statues of wartime heroes from Broken Arrow. The first is of Lt. Col. Ernest “Chief” Childers (1918-2005), a full-blooded Muscogee indian and Medal of Honor recipient. In 1943, Lt. Col. Childers led a team of eight enlisted men in overtaking an entrenched enemy position near Oliveto, Italy. After suffering a broken foot, he single-handedly killed two enemy snipers. Then, after throwing rocks at a machine gun nest, he killed the occupants as they stood up. He and one of the enlisted men then took out a second machine gun nest. Then he captured an enemy mortar observer. The statue is one of the last works by internationally known Native American sculptor, Allan Houser.

Another statue, titled “American Patriot,” was dedicated on July 4, 2005. Major William “Hank” Miesner, Jr. (1939-2003) was often called “a soldier’s soldier.” After graduating from Broken Arrow HS, Hank joined the Marines, then enlisted in the Army (101st Airborne), then re-enlisted and entered into Officers School. He served two tours of combat duty in Vietnam, first as a Commanding Officer of a Special Forces “A” Detachment and an Airborne Light Infantry Company; later as a Company Commander of Company D, Second Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division.

Hank was awarded a host of medals including the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Silver Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, five Bronze Star Medals, four Air Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

In between the two statues is a memorial to the women who contributed to America’s military efforts through the decades, fronted by a large, lighted fountain.

Bonus stops: The Broken Arrow Historical Society Museum’s new facility is built in the style of the Indian Territory architecture that flourished on Main Street in 1904. The multi-floor museum chronicles the history of Broken Arrow, from being an Indian Territory through present day.

Also, if you’re a fan of “The Mother Road,” visit Tulsa’s Route 66 Harley-Davidson store and their Museum of the Road.

Photo by Michael Hickman.