Veterans Memorial Stadium home to more than just baseball

Veterans Memorial Stadium isn't just a place to watch the Cedar Rapids Kernels play baseball. It's also a place to remember and pay tribute to those who have served our country throughout history.

Outside of the stadium sits Veterans Memorial Park, a four-block monument that memorializes those who have served in the military and protected the United States during wars, conflicts, and peacetime. The display also lists several native Iowans who tragically lost their lives while proudly serving and protecting the U.S.

Veterans Memorial Park includes an airplane, tank, mobile gun, ship's anchor, a granite monument for every war and conflict area citizens have served in, and a victory wall proudly presenting the service emblems in granite.

Managed by the Veterans Memorial Commission, the Veterans Memorial Park was placed outside of the stadium because the Cedar Rapids baseball club elected to name their ballpark in honor of all veterans in 1949. The monument was built in 1991 and originally located on 12th and 8th Avenue.

Although it had to be relocated to its current location because of the Kernels moving to a new ballpark in 2001, it remains a place for servicemen and the general public to pay tribute to those who served.