Mayor's Committee for Veterans
About the Tidewater Veterans Memorial
Great ideas often start with a vision. That’s certainly true of the Tidewater Veterans Memorial, located at 19th Street and Jefferson Avenue across from the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
The dream belonged to Bill Hallead of the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 20, before his death in 1982. A group of military veterans and community leaders came together to carry Hallead’s dream into reality, creating the Tidewater Veterans Memorial Committee. The dynamic piece of public art you see today, which was dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1988, represents the cumulative effort of that group.
Building the memorial was a real challenge at first. There was no design, no land, no financing, and no idea whether the community would support the project. But that all changed over time.
The committee discovered there was significant local interest in a memorial built to honor the Tidewater area, military veterans. A site was dedicated by the City of Virginia Beach, which also appropriated funds for construction costs.
Other financing came from the business sector, community leaders, the military, and Tidewater residents.
The committee did not want something that only focused on the past. It also had to be uplifting and relay a message for the future. Committee members believed it was important to include community youth in the design process and held a contest among local high school students.
Three students shared in the final design concepts upon which the memorial was created: Edward Davis of Bayside High School, Audra F. Powell of Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center, and Martha Ellen Clark of First Colonial High School.
From their winning renderings, three main themes emerged:
- "A World Divided by War," represented by the spherical forms at the focal point of the site.
- "An Effort to Bring All People Together," represented by the water element at the base of the forms.
- "The Service Rendered by The Veterans," symbolized by the wall of flags on the north side of the site.
Integrating these three themes and concepts into a final design was the task of local artists, sculptors, and architects. Another competition was held. From among 25 entries, Joseph A. Miller, a young architect with a local firm called Talbot and Associates, Ltd., won first place.
The memorial’s design symbolizes the way the world is divided by war and what is lost when war takes place. The constantly moving waterfall signifies turmoil but also unification. Several flags adorn the site, representing the United States, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and all five branches of the military, as well as one specially designed to honor Tidewater veterans.
And flying beneath the American flag is one that pays tribute to prisoners of war and missing in action; it will remain in place until all have been accounted for.
From concept to reality, the Tidewater Veterans Memorial is now part of a great legacy of service. It is an everlasting homage to the men and women who have given their all so that freedom and democracy may thrive.
Located next to the Tidewater Veterans Memorial, the William L. "Billy" Myers Sr. Veterans Memorial Park features brick paver stones inscribed with the names of individuals who have served in all branches of the U.S. Armed Services.
The Mayor's Committee for Veterans is now accepting orders for pavers to be installed in the Veterans Memorial Park for Memorial Day 2025. Please complete the form and return it with a check made payable to VAVVF to:
Mayor’s Committee for Veterans
P.O. Box 4314
Virginia Beach, VA 23454Each year, Virginia Beach honors and pays tribute to all members of the U.S. armed forces during a formal ceremony for Memorial Day. The event takes place at the Tidewater Veterans Memorial on 19th Street, across from the Virginia Beach Convention Center. In the case of inclement weather, the event is held inside the Convention Center.
Hosted by the Virginia Beach Mayor and the Mayor’s Committee for Veterans, the ceremony honors those who "who gave their all," and features live music, reading of honored veteran names and remarks from distinguished guests. If held outdoors, it includes a 21-gun salute and flyovers.
It is free and open to the public, and usually is live-streamed on the City’s multimedia page and on the City’s Facebook page.
Each year, the Tidewater Veterans Memorial also is the culmination of the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony, which traditionally is designated as a regional event sanctioned by the Veterans Day National Committee.
The Virginia Beach Mayor’s Committee for Veterans is tasked with planning and producing the Memorial Day Ceremony. In addition, committee members manage the memorial paver program and work with the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations to plan and present the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony.
Volunteers are needed to help ensure that the veterans in Virginia Beach and the Tidewater area are never forgotten. The Mayor's Committee for Veterans meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month (except November and December) at VFW Post 392, 2408 Bowland Parkway, Virginia Beach.
To learn more about the committee, please email Virgil Hart, committee chairman, at vhart@vbgov.com.
To order a memorial paver, please complete the form and return it with a check made payable to VAVF to:
Mayor’s Committee for Veterans
P.O. Box 4314
Virginia Beach, VA 23454The Mayor’s Committee for Veterans is made up of volunteers who are tasked with planning and producing the Memorial Day Ceremony. In addition, they manage the memorial paver program and work with the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations to plan and present the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony.
Committee members who planned and produced the 2024 Memorial Day Ceremony, as they do each year, were recognized for their work to honor veterans with a proclamation at the Aug. 13, 2024, Virginia Beach City Council meeting.
Chairman: Virgil Hart
Meeting Schedule: The Mayor's Committee for Veterans meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month (except November and December) at VFW Post 392, 2408 Bowland Pkwy.
Members
- AD1 Warren Bradford, U.S. Navy, retired
- MR1 Roger Durity, U.S. Navy, retired
- Stuart Grimes-Myers
- Joann M. Harkins, Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America
- GSEC (SW) Virgil M. Hart, U.S. Navy, retired
- Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Holston, U.S. Navy, retired
- Staff Sgt. Louis E. Hubbard, III, U.S. Army
- Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. Kmet, U.S. Army National Guard
- Lt. Joseph T. Mahachek, Jr., U.S. Navy, retired
- Cmdr. Edward T. McCarthy, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, retired
- Charles R. Montgomery, Jr., U.S. Army
- Charles E. Payne, U.S. Army
- Maj. Michael Rohlfs, U.S. Marine Corps, retired
- DCCS (SW) Ralph Seutter, U.S. Navy, retired
For more information about the Committee, please contact Virgil Hart at vhart@vbgov.com.
Additional Information
- Location: 19th Street, Virginia Beach, across from Convention Center
- Original idea: Bill Hallead of the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 20
- Organization: Tidewater Veterans Memorial Committee
- Land donated: City of Virginia Beach
- Construction costs: City of Virginia Beach, business sector, community leaders, the military, and residents throughout the Tidewater area.
- Dedicated: May 30, 1988
- Architect: Joseph A. Miller of Talbot and Associates, Ltd.
- Design concepts: Edward Davis of Bayside High School, Audra F. Powell of VoTech, and Martha Ellen Clark of First Colonial High School, finalists in a high school contest
- Representation: The split forms reflect the way the world is divided by war. The cut-out void in the spherical shapes symbolizes the part of the world that is lost when war takes place. The constantly moving waterfall also symbolizes the turmoil of war yet represents the unifying factor to bring people together - a message from the past together with a message for the future.
