Story by James Leigh
Photography by Donald Cross
Jo Taylor has been the face of the Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee for nearly a decade, but the longtime chair of the committee is stepping away from the position at the end of the year due to family health issues.
One of the original members of the committee, Taylor never served in the military, but with many family members who have served, she understands the sacrifice members of the military and their families make.
"My family all served," she said. "My brothers served, my father, my grandfathers. We've had a long history of people who have been in the service, including my son, who was career Air Force Special Ops, but we had an opportunity to start thanking all of the veterans."
While the memorial was not dedicated until 2009, the work to bring it to fruition started nearly a decade earlier. Taylor initially refused requests by the committee's original chair, Morris Cash, to join the committee due to being an elected official at the time.
"He said, 'Well, you're still on the committee. I want your advice, and I want you to come to the meetings,'" she recalled. "A few meetings I went to, they were all passionate. That's the only word I can use. Each of the veterans present were real passionate about what they wanted to see here, what they wanted to happen."
Taylor took over as chair of the committee approximately eight years ago after Cash was diagnosed with cancer.
"He said, 'I want you to take over being vice chairman because if something happens to me, you'll have to become chairman,'" she recalled. "So then I became his student. I was trying to follow -- and everything I've done since then, I always think, 'Is this how you would have done it? Does this please you, Morris? Is this what you expected of me?' I think I could answer 'yes,' because I've always put this real important in our lives. And my husband has, too."
Some National Guard members or reservists feel as if their service does not earn them a place in a veterans' memorial, but Taylor is adamant that even if they did not see action, they deserve the recognition for their sacrifice.
"A lot of the guys who just are in the Reserves, they say, 'Well, I can't have anything down there because I was in the Reserves,'" she said. "So I said, 'You signed a piece of paper that you'd go and you'd protect us, no matter where they sent you. To me you served. You might not have had to go to a foreign country, but you've served here, ready to go. I mean, that's serving the country.'"
While the granite memorial is one of the most prominent parts of the Veterans Memorial and Military Park, the personalized bricks and pavers that are inside and surrounding the memorial was a key part of what the Veterans Memorial Committee wanted to help with upkeep of the site.
"Morris thought it'll be the Garland County Veterans Memorial; it'll be Garland County veterans," Taylor said. "Well right away, he realized there are a bunch of veterans here that weren't from here, did not enter the service from here, but their family and their businesses wanted to honor them with a paver or brick. So that filled up real fast in the middle, and then they started spilling down the steps, and so it's almost all full now of the bricks."
Taylor said the bricks and pavers have become "a piece of art, constantly moving and changing."
"We had to add to the large paver side because we had some sold that we didn't have in the ground, so we had to get that done," she said. "But next is to build more paving areas for the pavers to go in. But that's a nice problem to have."
There are an estimated 1,400 bricks that comprise the area in and around the memorial, including the sidewalk that leads from the memorial to Orange Street.
"We have about 700 here, and then over toward the Farmers Market is 700 in the middle of that sidewalk, so it's plenty for brick room, but it's a nice problem," Taylor said. "If you want to honor your father or an uncle or your brother or your mother or your aunt or cousin for Father's Day or Mother's Day, in order to order a brick for Memorial Day, the order has to be in by March 1 so that we can get that in and if there's any kind of problem, we can get it fixed before Memorial Day gets here."
The Veterans Memorial and Military Park has gone through many changes since its dedication in 2009. The biggest change was one Cash never believed would happen.
"If you can see this from the air, it looks like a piece of a pie," Taylor said. "And he said, 'We're never gonna get the rest of that piece down there because Eagle Heat and Air is in business,' and they used it to drive big trucks in and back up to the loading and unloading dock at the back of the building. When they went out of business, I went to the city and I said, 'Can we have that parking lot?' and they said, 'Yes.' So then we started petitioning to move the tall monument from over by the creek, Greenway, and then the Spanish-American War rock. We've moved those."
Another addition to the area has been the Purple Heart battle tank that was moved from DeSoto Park in 2017. The tank had been dedicated as a memorial by the Military Order of the Purple Heart on Veterans Day, 1992.
"It was dedicated by the Purple Heart group, and so they had to sign off on it being moved to here," Taylor said. "And the city did approve it, and so it was moved here about probably five years ago. But it was just on the edge of that parking lot. Now the parking lot's gone. We're real blessed to have it, and we have a plaque that says that Purple Heart made this possible."
One of nine children, Taylor has lived in more than 80% of the states in the country, but while she was born in Lubbock, Texas, she knew Arkansas was where she wanted to be as soon as she arrived.
"I was born in Lubbock, Texas, and I never lived there," she said. "My parents traveled with a corporation, a construction company and (had) nine children, and we were all born about a year apart. ... My brother was born less than a year after me, and he was in California, my sister -- Kansas, so I've lived in over 40 states. I'm not complaining. I knew when I touched Arkansas this is where I was supposed to be. I knew Day One. I was 16. I've been here since I was 16."
At 13, Taylor met Ronald Reagan, who at the time was running as a Democrat for governor of California, and it got her interested in public service. She started working at the Garland County Court House in 1976 for Matthew Harris, the tax collector, and after 17 years of work in the courthouse, she ran for the office herself.
Taylor said that while she plans to remain part of the committee, she felt the need to step down as chair.
"(I'm) just gonna be a committee member," she said. "Eight years is long, and it's a part-time job right. I told (incoming chair) Tom (Wilkins) when he was elected, I said, 'The thing about this is it's not just a glory position. It's work.'"
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor will be stepping down from the role she has held for eight years at the end of the year. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor is one of the original members of the committee that was created nearly 20 years ago to create the memorial. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
While she never served in the military, Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor has always held a special place in her heart for veterans due to her family's connection to multiple branches of the military. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor said many veterans appreciate this sign due to the truth they see in it. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor hopes her contributions to the committee as chair have honored Morris Cash, her predecessor. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor said moving the Purple Heart battle tank from DeSoto Park to the Veterans Memorial and Military Park was possible after the committee was able to expand the site several years ago. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor believes all veterans, even members of the National Guard and reservists, deserve recognition for their service. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor said serving as chair of the committee has been an honor. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor said the original members of the committee worked tirelessly to bring their vision to fruition. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor will be stepping down from the role she has held for eight years at the end of the year. (The Sentinel-Record/Donald Cross)
Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee Chair Jo Taylor speaks with a veteran during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the memorial. (The Sentinel-Record/Lance Brownfield)