Dwayne Webster Memorial Park

Dwayne Webster Veteran's Park in Loveland, Colorado has a very rich history. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2013, some of the story was published in the Loveland Reporter Herald. In the fall of 1940, Loveland's Harold Dwayne Webster was 17 years old and a Loveland High School senior. He persuaded his father to let him join the Navy, which he did on Dec. 7, 1940. One year later, Seaman 2nd Class Webster was serving at Pearl Harbor, where he became Loveland's first casualty in the attack that drew the United States into World War II. Lakeside Park was renamed Dwayne Webster Veterans Park in his honor. The plaque at the park reads, "Killed in action on December 7, 1941, while serving on the Battleship USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii. Entombed in the USS Arizona. First native of Loveland to lose his life in World War II. 'Remember Pearl Harbor.'" The Loveland Visual Arts Commission, City Parks & Recreation Department and Associated Veterans worked together in 2005 to construct this newest memorial, which represents veterans from World War II to present day. A sculpture of a rifle with a helmet resting on the butt -- titled "Some Gave All" and sculpted by James Muir -- is mounted on a pedestal. Four of the five sides are engraved with the names of service members who died in action and who listed Loveland as their home of record. Two of the most recent names added are Justin Bauer and Isaac Palomarez.