Welcome to SDSU's War Memorial Page!

Our group has digitized the history, news, and veteran profiles of those honored by the SDSU War Memorial. Our goal is to further educate and recognize the veterans who sacrificed their lives for the United States from WWII to the present. Feel free to navigate our page to learn more about these brave individuals, and the monument and why it matters to our community.

See below for the History of the SDSU War Memorial since its inception.

At the beginning of WWII, geography professor Lauren C. Post vowed to document and preserve the SDSC (what the university was known as at that time, San Diego State College) servicemens' experiences. The work he did currently resides at SDSU's Special Collections & Archives department. [1] In 1945, a war memorial fund began with fifty dollars from Phi Lambda Xi -- a continuation to Professor Post's dedication of remembering the military service of fellow students. It was not until the Pre-50s Alumni Committeee successfully raised about $50,000 in 1995 that the construction of a dedicated war memorial began. [2] The design of the monument followed the group's intentions to memorialize, as Cozens (a member of the Pre-50s) describes, "our fellow Aztecs who gave their lives in service to their nation during those three military conflicts" (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam). [3] Never a monument to glorify war but to remember the sacrifices Aztec students made during times of conflict propelled the project's dedication without opposition.

"Since the 1940s, those who have died in service to the nation have been memorialized on campus, first with two plaques beneath Hardy Tower in the original quad. The plaques bear the names of former students killed during World War II and the Korean War. Outside the quad and down the hill from Hepner Hall, near Scripps Cottage and the turtle pond, stands the Freedom Tree. As a plaque embedded in concrete near its base explains, the tree was dedicated in 1973 'to Lt. Col Charles J, Scharf and all prisoners of war and missing in action.' The War Memorial, a granite obelisk stands 25 feet high and is etched with the names of about 239 former San Diego State students lost in service to their country during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq" is the culmination and expansion of the plaques and freedom tree. [4] 

"Located just west of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union and north of the campus trolley station, it is recognized as one of the few free-standing tributes of its kind on a college campus in the United States.[5]" Designed by former SDSU art professor Jesus Dominguez, the monument deliberately finishes with a jagged top of the reinforced concrete monolith to symbolize the untimely deaths of the many Aztec names continuously carved on its surface. 

As names, wars, and structures add to the original memorial, an annual Wreath Laying Ceremony pays tribute before Veteran's Day and the University's Homecoming game. The ceremony began on the monument's dedication day. At first, the Alumni Association's War Memorial committee organized the War Memorial Vigil. Slightly after the student veteran's organization (SVO) was founded in 2006, both groups partnered together for the cermony. [6] Today, the war memorial committee is no more and SVO continues this unique tradition. 

Related Pages:

Work Cited:

[1] MS-0353, Lauren C. Post Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library, archives.sdsu.edu; MS-0369, World War II San Diego State College Servicemen's Correspondence Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library, archives.sdsu.edu; World War II Servicemen's Correspondence Collection, 1941-1945, Digital Collections, San Diego State University Library, digital.sdsu.edu.

[2] Joe Starck, "SDSU Classmates Remembered," The Daily Aztec 80, no. 56 (Tuesday, November 26, 1996), ibase.sdsu.edu.

[3] Starck, "SDSU Classmates Remembered," (1996), ibase.sdsu.edu.

[4] "SDSU War Memorials: Symbols or Sacrifice or Something More?," SDSU Alumni (2022), sdsualumni.org.

[5] "SDSU War Memorial On Aztec Green," SDSU Alumni (2022), sdsualumni.org.

[6] "Get Involved: Student Veteran Org Gives Back," University Wire (September 25, 2014), proquest.com.