Ponca City, Oklahoma Blue Star Memorial Highway Monument

Oklahoma Senate Joint Resolution 12 of 1951 dedicated US Highway 77, through the State of Oklahoma, as a memorial highway. It honors all Oklahoma veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during World War I and World War II. This Memorial Marker is one of several along the route and was sponsored by the Ponca City Council of Garden Clubs, in cooperation with the Oklahoma State Highway Department and the Planning and Resources Board. The monument features a Blue Star Memorial Highway marker with the National Council of State Garden Clubs logo mounted on top, a cast-aluminum, copper & olive drab green-colored plate with gold-leaf raised lettering, atop a bi-level, rectangular stone wall. The center plate is 41” high and 45” wide, and is encased in a matching stone frame on the taller section of the base wall, forming a third tier. A large blue 5-pointed star is the focal point of the marker, followed by the wording: “BLUE STAR MEMORIAL HIGHWAY” and “A TRIBUTE TO THE ARMED FORCES THAT HAVE DEFENDED THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” The sponsoring Ponca City garden clubs are recognized, as is the cooperation of the appropriate State highway and resources agencies. The Memorial Highway was designated in 1951. (Note: Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are designated and marked to honor service in the U.S. Armed Forces. The highways transit over 70,000 miles in some 39 states across the country. The program is an initiative of the National Garden Clubs, Inc., and began in 1945, after World War II. A large metal Blue Star Memorial Highway marker is placed at appropriate locations along the way.) (Note: The Blue Star symbol is borrowed from a World War I tradition to recognize serving members of the Armed Services. That tradition continues with a blue 5-pointed star centered on special banners (flags) with a white field and red border. The banner is typically displayed in homes, to denote a family member actively serving in a war or during a period of armed conflict.)