Laramie’s Historic WWI Monument Honored

An icon of World War I is set to be rededicated in Laramie starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026. It contains the names of over 1,000 men and women from Albany County and the University of Wyoming (UW) who served in that war, including 32 who died. County residents who are interested in those named on the six panels of this monument are especially invited to attend. The event is free and open to the public.

The names are easily read on the recently refurbished panels, but they are also pictured on the Facebook page of the Albany County Historical Society. Don’t overlook the separate list of those who lost their lives, located on the northeastern panel.

WWI History

War broke out in Europe in 1914, and the conflict then known as the Great War raged across the continent. The Austro-Hungarian Empire attacked Serbia; Germany invaded Belgium and France. Due to treaty obligations, Great Britain joined the war in support of Belgium and France as did Russia. But the U.S. remained neutral for nearly three years.

Most American citizens and the U.S. government were opposed to joining in the conflict. However, while U.S. commercial ships were resupplying Great Britain, German attacks on these ships caused the deaths of hundreds of American merchant seamen and civilians. These submarine attacks helped to change public opinion in America and prompted President Woodrow Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war. Congress agreed and the U.S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

From then through November 11, 1918, when an armistice was signed, almost five million Americans served in the U.S., British, or Canadian military and merchant marine forces. About 11,000 of those were men and women from Wyoming. Over 53,000 Americans were killed in action and another 63,000 died of other causes, mainly influenza. Albany County residents and UW alumni accounted for more than 1,000 of those who served.

Monument Planning

In June 1923, UW Professor Grace Raymond Hebard approached local philanthropist Edward Ivinson to solicit funds for a plaque to commemorate the 11 UW students who died during the Great War. As they conferred, the project grew to include all UW and Albany County veterans of that war. Ivinson agreed to pay for a much larger memorial and the Laramie City Council accepted the offer.

A contract was signed in February 1924 for the large eagle atop the memorial and the bronze plaques that would bear the names of those who served. Experienced Italian-born war memorial sculptor Giuseppe Moretti of Pittsburgh was selected for the design. In today’s dollars, the cost of the monument would be about $200,000.

Dr. Hebard suggested the memorial be placed on the UW campus. Ex-mayor Ivinson rejected that suggestion and insisted that the monument be placed in the center of the intersection of 2nd and Thornburgh Streets (later Ivinson Avenue). Ivinson had built brick buildings on three corners there, and for several years was the president of the First National Bank on the fourth corner.

Locating Names

Dr. Hebard acquiesced on the location and began the difficult task of communicating with military officials and families to initiate the creation of a list of those who served and died. She wrote hundreds of letters to individuals seeking information about all who had served. In February 1924 a list of 1006 names was published in the Laramie newspaper.

Dr. Hebard asked for help to complete the list—some 50 additional names were added. The names placed on the panel of those who perished grew from 11 to 32. Three men listed on the monument—Charles Delario, Jesse King, and Harry Horton—received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroic actions. This is the second highest military award one can receive, second only to the Medal of Honor. Delario and King were killed in action. Horton, an Army medic, was very badly wounded but after 22 surgeries to reconstruct his face, he was able to resume his chiropractic practice in Laramie.

Despite her best efforts, Dr. Hebard was not able to find names for all those who served, so some are missing. Families who belatedly found out about the project contacted her after the panels had already been cast in bronze. Letters of apology were sent to those families. Efforts are underway to find the missing names.

Members of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Albany County Historical Society have been locating information and photos of any who served. Some, like Lee Grier, moved to Albany County after their war service and are not listed on the monument. Several women are listed, including Rose White, an Army nurse born in the abandoned Albany County town of Rock Creek. At least one black Army veteran on the monument is John Logan Ransom, who served when Army troops were segregated by race.

Dedication

The original monument dedication was held on October 7, 1924. The Republican-Boomerang placed the story at the top of page one. Hundreds were in attendance. Speeches were given by Laramie Mayor Thurman Arnold and past UW President Aven Nelson. Representatives of the DAR, the Grand Army of the Republic (Union veterans of the Civil War), Veterans of the Spanish American War, and the American Legion were given honored places. (Laramie’s post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars had not yet been formed.) The ceremony closed with the reading of the names of those who died, followed by a volley fired by the ROTC rifle squad, taps, and the national anthem.

Ninety-four-year-old Edward Ivinson had traveled from Denver for the dedication ceremony but was confined to the Connor Hotel by an illness and was not able to attend the ceremony. His friend, A.C. Jones, read Ivinson’s speech which recognized the sacrifices of the men and women who went off to the “War to End All Wars.” It read in part:

Let us pause and reverently bow our heads when their names are called…. the courageous young men who enlisted under the flag of our country and were willing to surrender their lives, if need be, in her behalf. …. May we see in the Eagle whose gaze is directed towards the rising sun, which gives light and life, a symbol of that for which our Country stands and may its outstretched wings symbolize and remind us of the blessings we enjoy under the protecting care of our beloved United States—a land that is dear to the hearts of all true, Americans.

Soon after he died in 1928, the monument was moved out of harm’s way from the busy intersection downtown and relocated to the northeast corner of the Albany County Courthouse at the intersection of 6th Street and Ivinson Avenue. It was situated so the eagle on top gazes at the Ivinson Mansion, now preserved as the Ivinson home and the home of the Laramie Plains Museum.

The monument has been completely refurbished through the efforts of the Jacques Laramie Chapter of the DAR and the Wyoming Semi-quincentennial Planning Task Force. The restoration was financed in part by a grant from the Albany County 250th Anniversary Committee, honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

There will be a brief ceremony at the monument on September 20 at 1:30, followed immediately by an educational program and reception at the Alice Hardie Stevens Center (AHSC) located behind the Ivinson Mansion at 603 Ivinson Ave.

At the reception, photos of the WWI veterans that have been located so far will be shown on the giant screen in the AHSC. There will be an opportunity for descendants to inform the organizers of treasured documents and photographs from the war that may have been passed down in families.

By Kim Viner

Melville C. Brown - President of Wyoming’s 1889 Constitutional Convention.