GREAT FALLS — Names stretch across the walls of the Montana Veterans Memorial, but one detail is intentionally absent: rank.
For the veterans who helped build the memorial and continue caring for it, the decision reflects a larger purpose. Each person represented on the walls deserves an equal place of honor, as all served honorably.
WATCH Madison Collier's report below:
The memorial recognizes veterans across military branches, generations and experiences in service. The names include men, women and K-9 service members, living or deceased, who served during war or peacetime.
U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps reserve veteran Michael Winters helped establish the memorial after his wife, Barbara, challenged him to bring one to Great Falls.
"My wife laid down a challenge: 'We don't have a veterans memorial in Great Falls. Get it done,'" Winters said. "And so we did."
The effort began in 1999 with a small group of volunteers and about $500. Today, more than 8,500 veterans are honored through tiles, granite benches, flagpoles, picnic tables and trees overlooking the Missouri River.
As Winters walked through the memorial, he pointed to names from across the country's military history. The grounds include hundreds of Blackfeet warrior tiles, including the first Blackfeet woman to join the Marine Corps, and other notable figures such as Lewis and Clark.
That history spans generations, from veterans who served during the Civil War, including in the Confederate States Army, to those who served in the U.S. Space Force.
"We wanted to honor everybody who was in the military," Winters said. "When we look at that, it is to honor and recognize all veterans. And that really means all veterans."
Winters describes the memorial as a collection of individual experiences that become more meaningful when viewed together.
"Each tile, each and every tile, has a story that is only known to that veteran," Winters said.
Some of those stories are also reflected in the memorial's artwork.
At its center stands the Warrior Angel, holding dog tags and releasing five doves. The statue's artist, Marvin Brewster, was a medic during the Vietnam War. Winters says Brewster later told him the doves represented five service members who died in his arms.
"He promised himself and those men that he would do something to memorialize them," Winters said.
A more recent addition includes an area recognizing veterans and families affected by Agent Orange. The monument honors those who died or continue experiencing health problems linked to exposure. U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ed Olson helped lead the effort to bring the monument to the grounds.
Olson is apart of the Montana Veteran's Memorial Association. He helps maintain the site, including keeping the memorial's kiosk accessible to visitors. The kiosk serves as a way to locate any name listed on the walls of the memorial. While some visitors come from Great Falls, others travel much farther.
Olson recalled meeting a man from Belgium who had visited veterans memorials throughout the Pacific Northwest.
"He said, 'You people in the United States take the best care of your memorials of any place in the world,'" Olson said.
The Montana Veterans Memorial is maintained by volunteers and supported through private donations. As it continues to grow, the people who care for it say they are also preparing for the need to add more walls and create room for additional names.
For Winters, however, the memorial is about more than its size. It is a quiet place where families can find someone they know, touch their tile and remember them however they need to.
"If you want to lay your head against the tile and give a tear, that's OK," Winters said. "It's here."
The Montana Veterans Memorial is located at 1025 25th St. North in Great Falls. People interested in honoring a veteran with a granite tile, making a donation or learning more about the memorial can visit the Montana Veterans Memorial website.
