Veterans Day Commemoration of Women in Service
Event to be held at SeaTac Community Center on November 11, 2009, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Local jurisdictions and community members are invited on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, to an event celebrating a local historic road and the fallen soldiers from World War I that it honors. The event, to be held at SeaTac Community Center located at 13735 – 24th Avenue South in SeaTac, WA, will highlight the history of Des Moines Memorial Drive and will also honor the history of women who have served in the military.
Des Moines Memorial Drive is an eight-mile stretch of road, which winds through four local communities – SeaTac, Burien, Des Moines, and the Boulevard Park area of unincorporated area of King County
In 1922 the project was completed with the planting of 1,100 American elm trees to line the roadway as a “living” memorial to those who lost their lives in World War I. Over time, the impacts of disease, radical pruning and utility installations have decimated most of the elms.
Held on the day formerly known as Armistice Day, elected officials from several local cities will gather for this special event celebrating a local historic road and a living memorial to the fallen soldiers from World War I that it honors. Special presentations will be made by students and elected officials, and historical exhibits will tell more about this significant event and its place in our local history. The event will also honor women who have served in the military over the years. In 2006, several elected officials, including King County Councilmember Julia Patterson and local mayors, celebrated the recent improvements to Des Moines Memorial Drive, including memorial markers and interpretive elements in a segment of the Drive maintained by King County between South 99th Street and South 128th Street.
An Advisory Committee was created in 2000 with representation from, local cities, other interested public agencies, and concerned citizens to develop a coordinated vision for restoring and maintaining the living memorial. The resulting plan, which has been accepted by all the participating jurisdictions, outlines how the local cities can also incorporate similar memorial elements in their future road improvement projects along the Drive.
Des Moines Memorial Drive has national significance on several accounts: 1) it is the earliest planned “living road of remembrance;” 2) it is the only “living road of remembrance” that uses Elm trees; and 3) at 10 miles, it is the longest “living road of remembrance”.
The Des Moines Memorial Drive Memorial Wall was dedicated on November 11, 1963.
http://roadofremembrance.org/2006event.aspx