Medal of Honor installation honors those who have served in Arizona

Jim Waring was instrumental in creating the Arizona Medal of Honor Row. The installation sits in the City of Phoenix’s District 2, near Pinnacle Peak and Cave Creek Roads, which is adjacent to the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. The row of signs honors individuals with ties to Arizona who have received the Medal of Honor.

These individuals have served the country and Arizona with heroic valor and honor. The Medal of Honor is the United States government’s highest and most prestigious military decoration that may be awarded to recognize those who risk their lives above and beyond the call of duty.

Jim Waring, City of Phoenix Councilman, joined Ted Simons, host of Arizona Horizon, to discuss the Arizona Medal of Honor Row, comprised of 37 Medal of Honor recipients who have Arizona ties.

“There are a bunch of different things that we had to be cognizant of as we came out of this project,” Waring said. “Signs can’t be too big, you have to be respectful of the colors and so forth. We did get one complaint: a fellow offered to pay to totally redo the signs and make them bigger and flashier, but we used the official logos and the colors. But also there are rules about how big signs can be so that they don’t distract drivers.”

Waring discussed the recipients of the Medal of Honor.

“If you get to meet some of these American heroes, you realize they put it on the line for their comrades and really in a dangerous setting and earned their honor,” Waring said.

Waring mentioned they will continue to repair and perform maintenance on the row of signs when necessary. Waring says he hopes one of the target audiences that the Arizona Medal of Honor Row will reach is children.

“Maybe they look up the people and so forth. That’s really what you’re aiming for ultimately,” Waring said.