Royal Oak unveiled the War Memorial on June 17, 1946, in former City Hall Park at the northeast corner of Third and Williams. The memorial was erected as a result of the efforts of a War Council organization, appointed by the City Commission in the late fall of 1943.
Over the years the memorial has been moved multiple times. Today the Royal Oak War Memorial is located near Troy and Second Streets and honors those who gave their lives in service to our country in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
Lest We Forget
In 2021, members of the Royal Oak Veterans Events Committee began researching the 188 names on the various monuments of the memorial. The result of that research is contained in the map below.
- The gold 'stars' are known addresses of our onetime neighbors, some of whom were just teenagers when they made the ultimate sacrifice.
- The blue 'flags' are the known final resting places. They span the world from the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines to the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.
- The purple 'question mark' is there to indicate that there are three men for whom we have no information: Leroy Taylor (Vietnam), Frank Robinson (WWII), George Williams (WWII). Anyone with information on these men is asked to call 248-246-3201.