NE Valley Times

Residents of the Scottsdale area, including nearby Native American communities, have served in the United States military for over a century. Sixty-six service members from this region have lost their lives during military duty. Their names are now engraved on the granite faces of the Scottsdale Memorial for the Fallen.

The dedication ceremony for this new memorial is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The event will take place at Scottsdale City Hall’s Memorial Lawn and is open to the public.

Mayor David D. Ortega and Scottsdale Historian Joan Fudala will participate in the ceremony. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Band, along with the Scottsdale Fire Department’s pipes and drums, bugler Gil Gifford, and representatives from various local communities will also be present. During the event, readers will announce the names of the 66 individuals honored on the monument.

In June 2014, a group of citizens formed the City of Scottsdale Memorial Action Committee to create this memorial. Jim Geiser, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and graduate of Scottsdale High School and Arizona State University, led this effort. Geiser was instrumental in raising over $300,000 needed for its construction with support from various community organizations and individuals.

Construction began in Fall 2022 under JE Dunn Construction Company with assistance from several local firms. The memorial site includes benches, one dedicated to Jim Geiser who passed away in August 2022.

The memorial honors those from World War I through Afghanistan conflicts who hailed from greater Scottsdale areas like Paradise Valley and Native American communities such as Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

These service members were part of different branches of military service; some served in World War II's Royal Canadian Air Force as well. They include three World War I casualties, 25 from World War II, six from Korea, 25 from Vietnam, and seven since 2001 in Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Among them were Travis Sipe and Clayton Peterson whose memory is preserved by Sipe-Peterson Post 44 American Legion; Stanley Crews remembered by Stanley Crews Post 3513 Veterans of Foreign Wars; Curt Tarkington killed in Vietnam; Chief Warrant Officer Josh Silverman who died in Afghanistan in December 2013.

Many earned military awards posthumously such as Distinguished Service Crosses or Bronze Stars among others.

For more information visit ScottsdaleAZ.gov searching “veterans.”