Watch: Heroes on the Concho Memorial Dedicated, Honoring 20,542 WWII Veterans

SAN ANGELO, TX — Community leaders, military officials and veterans dedicated the Heroes on the Concho memorial Wednesday, unveiling a permanent tribute to 20,542 World War II veterans who called San Angelo and the Concho Valley home. 

The ceremony took place along Rio Concho Drive across from the McNease Convention Center. Speakers included Mayor Tom Thompson, committee chair Dr. Taylor Kingman, Col. Matthew A. Norton of the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base and U.S. Rep. August Pfluger. 

A 6-foot bronze statue of a World War II airman, sculpted by local artist Raul Ruiz, was unveiled as the centerpiece. 

Thompson opened the event by thanking the organizers who partnered with former Mayor Brenda Gunter, the City Council and Parks Superintendent Carl White. The city provided the site, and the Parks Department will maintain it. The project moved from idea to dedication in about 2½ years through fundraising, design and name collection. 

Kingman, who chaired the committee with his wife, thanked the committee members who raised funds and advanced the project. He also credited Ruiz for the bronze statue, the architects for the design and the construction team for completing the work. More than 150 individual donors, along with corporate and community sponsors, made the memorial possible.

Norton recounted Goodfellow’s World War II roots. Civic leaders secured the pilot training base in 1940-41. He highlighted local Medal of Honor recipients Jack Mathis, a San Angelo native and Goodfellow graduate, and Lt. Col. Leon Vance, as well as the base’s connection to the Doolittle Raid through the 17th Bombardment Group. More than 10,000 pilots trained there during the war. 

Pfluger praised the committee, the San Angelo Area Foundation, Ruiz, and historians who preserved the names. His office staff spent hundreds of hours verifying the 20,542 names; 25 more arrived this week. He highlighted Concho Valley natives James Earl Rudder, who led Rangers at Pointe du Hoc on D-Day, and Gen. Ira Eaker, who commanded the Eighth Air Force. Pfluger specially recognized Phil George, a World War II Army Air Corps pilot who flew over the Himalayas, later served in Korea and Vietnam, and became a longtime Angelo State University coach and athletic director. George sat in the front row, and the statue bears a resemblance to him. 

The memorial features name panels with 150 names each, not in alphabetical order. QR codes on plaques link to a website for searching names and submitting missing ones. Blank space remains for additional names.