Lejeune Memorial Gardens in Jacksonville, NC, offers a powerful and moving experience for visitors seeking to honor military sacrifice and reflect on the nation’s history. This tranquil site is home to four deeply significant memorials, including the Beirut Memorial, where the names of 273 fallen Marines are etched in granite as a tribute to their 1983 sacrifice in Lebanon and Grenade. The individuals of the US Marine Corps' 24th Marine Amphibious Unit who were part of this peacekeeping mission were more than soldiers to the people of Jacksonville, one of North Carolina's military heritage areas. They had been based at Camp Lejeune, and they were friends, neighbors, fellow church members, baseball and soccer coaches, members of the community. After the tragedy, members of the community joined together to do everything they could, including a girl auctioning off her Cabbage Patch Doll, to raise funds needed to complete construction.
Within the Lejeune Memorial Gardens is also the 9/11 Memorial, featuring a steel beam from the Twin Towers gifted by New York first responders; the expansive Vietnam Memorial, one of the few in the U.S. to include all 58,229 names of those who died; and the Montford Point Marine Memorial, which honors the first African Americans to integrate the Marine Corps during World War II. Together, these monuments offer a profound, contemplative space that pays lasting tribute to courage and dedication.
