When an uninsured motorist crashed into a memorial wall honoring World War II and Korean War veterans located in front of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law downtown, a mystery unfolded as to who had ownership of the wall and was responsible for its repair.
Naturally, National Guard First Sergeant (1SG) Chris Bourque, University of Memphis Veterans and Military Student Support director, stepped in to help — becoming a detective and historian along the way.
“I always like a little challenge,” said Bourque. “Once you start putting some effort and attention to detail and putting pieces together, you start seeing what you can accomplish.”
Bourque who moved to Memphis from Missouri said the project allowed him to learn more about the history of the city and the University.
“I started digging into it and reached out to several Facebook groups and organizations that might know something about the wall’s history — even multiple people within the same groups who didn’t seem to be in communication with each other,” he said.
From there, Bourque started collecting as much data as he could about the memorial contacting groups such as the State Historic Preservation Department and the Tennessee Historical Commission. He even found an old MOU signed by former UofM President Shirley Raines that transferred ownership of the monument to the University.
He discovered an old article which he said shed some light from 2012 in Memphis Magazine which delved into the downtown war memorial fountain’s history which was built in 1962 and funded by the Gold Star Mothers as a tribute to World War II veterans and later updated to include Korean War veterans.
Years later the fountain was dismantled. What remained in front of the Law School was just a portion of the original. “The wall was capped over, which essentially made it no longer a ‘historical’ war monument,” Bourque said.
“It was no longer registered as any type of monument for the city or the state. Everyone I talked to literally knew nothing about it, the biggest concern for most people was who had to pay to get it fixed if they claimed it. The University funded the repair and wanted to go through the proper channels to repair it and make it right.”
After more than a year, the wall has been restored thanks to Bourque’s efforts in collaboration with the Division of Business and Finance, the Law School, the Office of Legal Counsel and Campus Planning and Design, and Landmark Construction. UofM alumnus John I. Houseal (BS ’67, JD ’70) past president of the Law alumni association recommended the use of Tennessee limestone to repair the wall versus marble or quartz, not only was it more cost effective but would also match the exterior material used in the law building which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 80s. Protective bollards will be installed to preventive future damage.
“We are very proud to host the memorial on the campus of the Law School,” said Jim Strickland, dean of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. “I am thankful to Rene Bustamante, Tony Poteet, Melanie Murry, Maria Fuhrmann and others for their efforts that helped get the monument fixed. I am particularly thankful to Chris Bourque for his work in figuring out the history of the monument and the channels of approval needed to be obtained to fix the structure.”
Shelby County currently has the largest veteran population in the state (about 52,000) and Bourque said through repairing the wall the University was able to show its commitment to supporting veterans and our military.
“It was really great to close a loop on a project and see its positive outcome,” he said. “I have a lot of pride in the military affiliations we have in the city. I think it’s really important to show our pride by preserving and maintaining anything related to the military whether it’s a monument or statue.”
UofM Veterans and Military Student Services aims to connect UofM student veterans with campus and community resources such as textbooks, mentors, tutors and prior learning credits and partners with the Veterans Educational Benefits and Certification office on assisting students with utilizing their GI Bill benefits.
