The white crosses and silhouette of a kneeling soldier on the side of Duncan Bypass are there for a reason. They are meant as a remembrance of Union County military members that were killed during combat.

There are 179 white crosses, each with a fallen soldier’s name printed on it.

The tradition was started nearly 20 years ago when I.G. Vanderford saw a similar memorial while in Statesboro, Georgia for a wedding.

Vanderford asked a Statesboro police officer about the memorial with the intention of creating that kind of remembrance in his home county. “I brought a Statesboro newspaper back to Pete Berry, and he agreed to cut them out of wood and print the names of the soldiers on them,” said Vanderford. “Each cross has the name of a soldier from Union County who was killed in action.”

Eventually, the crosses started to show wear and tear after several years of being driven in the ground every Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day. The crosses were then remade out of metal. A silhouette of a kneeling soldier with the American flag has been placed in the middle of the crosses. The silhouette was cut and painted by Bobby Hall—member of Buffalo American Legion Post 87.