If you’ve crossed the new Memorial Bridge at night, you’ve probably seen this monument lit brightly on the Mandan side of the river. Now that the bridge has been formally dedicated, flags adorn the tops of the flag poles in the center, and the area is nearing completion. If I remember correctly, a small section of bridge span will be placed here sometime in the future.

I love my ultra-wide angle lens, by the way. It’s the only way to make such a shot possible. Obviously there’s some perspective distortion in the corners, but I think it’s a nice photographic effect.

This stone, bearing a memorial placard, has been placed beneath the flags. The stone stood by the old bridge as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it’s been there since 1924, like the metal placard it bears. There a stone like this for each end of the bridge, and I am sure Bismarck’s will be placed in an appropriate position once the debris of the old bridge is cleared and work on the Bismarck memorial begins. I wonder if the park on the Bismarck side will be the same as the one on the Mandan side? I sure hope so.

One neat feature of this monument is that it shoots a beam of light skyward at night. It’s most visible during those cold fall and winter nights, when we get a slight haze in the air. That’s pretty much every night during a North Dakota winter. That’s one more reason why I hope a second such monument is placed on the Bismarck side; we’ll have two columns of light shooting straight upward, similar to the monument at the site of the fallen World Trade Center buildings.

One other interesting feature is the text of the memorial placard, which thanks “our sons and daughters who died in the World War that liberty might live.” When this memorial was made in 1924, there had been only one “World War.” If they only knew of the display of valor yet to come.

This bridge is open for traffic, but I expect far more wonderful things from it down the road. This monument area is nearly completed, but I think they’ll be adding some signage and a chunk of the old bridge. I also look forward to seeing what is built on the Bismarck side of the river, once all the pulverized concrete is trucked away and construction can begin. In the mean time, it’s worth a chilly walk to see how things are taking shape as the new Liberty Memorial Bridge serves the second part of its important purpose: honoring our nation’s veterans.