Quotations on Peace Monuments
Around the World
Click here for monuments based on Isaiah 2:4 or Micah 4:3: "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."
Click here for monuments based on Isaiah 11: 6-9: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play in the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
Click here for other quotations from the Bible. | Click here for other peace quotations not necessarily on monuments.
Right click image to enlarge.
Kate Kirkman
1897 - Woman's Building, Tennessee Centennial Exposition (now Centennial Park), Nashville, Tennessee (USA). No longer exists. Site (near the fair's full-scale reproduction of the Parthenon) is marked by a subsequent monument with a sphere on top. Its plaque contains two quotations by Mrs. Van Leer (Kate) Kirkman, President, Woman's Department: "That that is round can be no rounder" and "Women's Work. Whatever may be necessary to preserve the sanctity of the homBennett (2001).
Adrian Jones
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1924 - Figure of "Peace," Uxbridge War Memorial, Lynch Green, Uxbridge, London (England). "I thought we had quite enough memorials that seemed to revive the war spirit rather than to consider peace, which is, after all, the aim and end of every great struggle." -- Sculptor Adrian Jones [1845-1938] in his autobiography "Memoirs of a Soldier Artist."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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THamilton Holt
1938 - Anti-War Monument, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida (USA). Artillery shell made into a monument by Hamilton Holt [1872-1951], president of Rollins College. Top inscription: "Pause, passer by, and hang your head in shame." Right image shows Holt (far right> visiting Belgian trenches during World War I. Compare 1936 monument of Sylvaia Pankhurst in London, England (UK).
Prof. Tadayoshi Saika
August 6, 1952 - Defaced January 4, 2012 - Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Also called "Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace." Has Inscription composed by Prof. Tadayoshi Saika: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil." "The stone chest in the center holds the registry of the names of persons who died from the bombing, regardless of nationality. As of August 6, 2001, the registry comprises 77 volumes that list a total of 221,893 names." Restored 1984-85. #20 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour. /// "Found defaced with what appears to be golden paint in the early hours of Wednesday, police said. Paint was sprayed over part of the cenotaph's inscription, according to the police, who are treating the incident as damage to property. A security guard rushed to the cenotaph shortly before 1 a.m. after someone entered the monument site and set off an alarm, according to the police."
Hideki Yukawa
May 9, 1966 - Statue of Peace ("New Leaves"), in front of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima (Japan). By sculptor Katsuzo Entsuba [1905-2003]. Built by Hiroshima South District Rotary Club. Inscribed with poem by Dr. Hideki Yukawa (first Nobel laureate from Japan): "O god of evil, do not come this way again. This place is reserved for those who pray for peace." #32 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour.
Ed Grothus
1973 - Omega Peace Institute (OPI), Arkansas Avenue, Los Alamos New Mexico (USA). Next door to Black Hole (qv). Former Grace Lutheran Church purchased in 1973 by Ed Grothus [1923-2009]. Includes CND peace sign & two broken bombs. Signs say "No one is secure unless everyone is secure" & "OMEGA PEACE INSTITUTE, FIRST CHURCH OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY, BLACK HOLE SYNOD, Critical Mass Every Sunday with Bomb Unworship Service. Don Eduardo de Los Alamos, Pastor."
Isaiah 2:4
1975 - Isaiah Wall, Ralph Bunch Park, East 43rd Street & First Avenue, New York City, New York (USA). Quotes Isaiah 2:4: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares." Shadow in image is cast by adjacent "Peace Form One." Entry #718 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).
Martin Luther King, Jr., in his "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963
Fanny Lou Hamer at 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, NJ
1977 - Grave of Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruleville, Mississippi (USA). Fannie Lou Hamer [1917-1977] was was an American voting rights activist and civil rights leader. Tombstone engraved "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."
Chief Jake Swamp
April 10, 1986 - Tree of Peace, Shasta Hall, California State University, Sacramento, California (USA). Original plaque (shown in image) given on Indigenous People's Day (Oct. 12, 2009) to Ensuring Native Indian Traditions club (ENIT) by E. Nathan Jones, CSU Theatre & Dance Department. Its inscription: "TREE OF PEACE. Dedicated by Chief Jake Swamp of the Mohawk Nation, April 10, 1986. 'When I look at this tree, May I be reminded that I laid down my weapons forever.'" Information courtesy of Trevor Super.
Bayard Rustin
Matthew 5:9
June 24, 1990 - "Silent Witness" Memorial, Gander Lake, Gander, Newfoundland (Canada). For 256 victims who died December 12, 1985, when Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashed while transporting Multinational Force Observers (MFO's) from the Sinai via Cairo to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky (USA). Depicts an unarmed soldier holding the hands of two civilian children, each with an olive branch of peace. Plaque says, "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9). Sculpted by Stephen Sheilds of Hopkinsville, KY (USA).
Kunta Kinte in "Roots" by Alex Haley
1990 - "Behold", Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Depicts Kunta Kinte from the novel Roots by Alex Haley. Kinte is performing a Mandinka ceremony for his first-born, Kizzy: "Behold, the only thing greater than yourself." Sculpted by Patrick Morelli. Dedicated by Coretta Scott King. There are Alex Haley statues in Annapolis, Maryland, and Knoxville, Tennessee.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
September 30, 1990 - Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument, Lisgar & Elgin Streets, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Immediately adjacent to Ottawa City Hall. "Dedicated to the fundamental concepts of personal freedom & respect for the dignity of each individual with the inscription of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity & rights.' The Tribute is the first monument in the world dedicated to universal human rights, and was unveiled by Dalai Lama of Tibet in September of 1990."
Agnus Dei section of the Roman Catholic Mass
November 14, 1990 - Fridenszeichen / Peace Monument, Lake Konstance (Bodensee), Lindau, Bravaria (Germany). According to Peter van den Dungen, "Very near to where the Friedensmuseum Landau (Friedens Raeume / Peace Rooms) is located. Sculpted by Dietrich Foerster, the winner of a competition organised by the Akademie der Bildenden Kuenste in Munich. A bronze plaque explains that it was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Coventry cathedral, and concludes with "Dona Nobis Pacem."
Dwight D. Eisenhower in his "Chance for Peace" speech before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953
January 15, 1991 - Peace Monument, Harrison County Courthouse, Corydon, Indiana (USA). Conceived by Mark Stein to balance war memorials at every other conner of the courthouse. Simple stone slab with a dove & inscribed only "Dedicated to the Peaceful Resolution of Conflict," plus this quotation: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone, it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower [1890-1969]." Dedicated on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Visited by EWL 09Aug09.
Paul Francis Conrad
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in an address at Chautauqua, NY, August 14, 1936
May 2, 1997 - Room 3, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Tidal Basin, Washington, DC (USA). "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war." Click here for all 21 FDR quotes.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt in an address to Congress after his return from Yalta, March 1, 1945
Juan Luis Vives
1998 - Monumento a la Paz y a la Concordia / Monument to Peace and Agreement, Plaza de la Vírgen, Valencia (Spain). By José Puche. A homage to the victims of terrorism. An inscription quotes Juan Luis Vives [1493-1540]: "Peace and harmony are daughters of reason and mind." Un homenaje a las victimas del terrrorismo. Una inscripción dice: "La Paz y la Concordia son hijas de la razon y de la mente."
Masahisa Goi (World Peace Prayer)
1998-2002 - Frogtown Neighborhood, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). To lessen street violence in an ethnicly diverse neighborhood, a volunteer group ("Peaceful Love Warriors") planted 85 peace poles at Willard's Bar, Frogtown Police Station, West Minnehahta Recreation Center, Speedy Market (seen in image), the Wilder Foundation, Urban Market, Lifetrack Resources, Ryan Park, other businesses, community organizations, churches, schools, and private residences. Peace poles were launched by Masahisa Goi [1916-1980] in 1945. Each pole bears his World Peace Prayer ("May Peace Prevail on Earth") in multiple languages.
Anonymous
April 1, 1999 - Peace Monument, between Cavan (Republic of Ireland) & Enniskillin (Northern Ireland). "After the ribbons were cut at the opening of the bridge, Lord Dubs, Minister Dempsey unveiled a sculpture with the name 'PEACE FOR ALL' by the sculptor Derek A. Fitz Simons from Newbridge, County Kildare. [It] represents a life-size warrior who is both tired of war, and the futility of further slaughter of conscious & is gently embraced by his partner, who is the mother of Ireland & has the strength to catch him & to comfort... The sculpture is to send out this statement: "Do we want to continue the way we are going or look at ourselves and try to resolve the situation?"The female figure represents peace, the male figure is naked to highlight the equality of all people, Protestants & Catholics, blacks & whites."
Micah 6:8
2002 - Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, Perryville Bike Path, Riverside & McFarland, Rockford, Illinois (USA). "Forty Flags, Sixty Languages, Ten Prophets of Peace, Two Hemispheres, One World." "Celebrates the rich and diverse ethnic history of the Rock River Valley." 15 foot by 34 foot sculpture “Harmony Atlas” atop a 7 foot by 25 foot granite sculpture base...adorned with 10 peace quotes" from John F. Kennedy; Mother Theresa; Martin Luther King; Mahatma Gandhi; an Oglala Sioux Native American; Albert Einstein; Abraham Lincoln; John Lennon; Petrarch; Aristide Briand; . . . and the Q&A from Micah 6:8 of Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition: "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Vernon Jones
July 20, 2003 - Peace Scupture (Greenham March Statue), City Hall, Cardiff (Wales). By Anton Agous of Malta. Inscriptions: "Her soul ignited goodness on our nuclear land; The burning bush of her sacrifice and faith will never be extinguished." -- Vernon Jones. Also "She will keep alive the memory of this womens action for peace which started from Cardiff in 1981 and went around the world." One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009. Click here to see article which accompanies the far right image.
Mahatma Gandhi
Peace Pilgrim
July 12, 2005 - Peace Pilgrim Park, London Street, Egg Harbor City, New Jersey (USA). Across from the Roundhouse Museum in the hometown of "Peace Pilgrim" Mildred Lisette Norman [1908-1981]. Maintained by the Friends of Peace Pilgrim in her memory. Quotation on sign: "Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth and hatred with love." Left image shows Peace Pilgrim's sister Helene Young with the statue of Peace Pilgrim. See other statue in Costa Rica. Click herefor more information.
Muhammad Ali
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MNovember 19, 2005 - Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville, Kentucky (USA). Exhibits Ali's core values on respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, charity & spirituality. "Hope & Dream" exhibit is composed of over 5,000 tiles with drawings & paintings from children from 141 countries, telling what they want to be when they grow up. The "Global Voices" exhibit asks questions to both children & adults from around the world with answers submitted through a variety of media, such as drawings & poems. "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... They never called me nigger." – Muhammad Ali, 1966.
George Santayama & Edmund Burke
Daisaku Ikeda
January 16, 2010 - "Peace Monument," Tamuning Park, Tamuning (US Territory of Guam). "Soka Gakkai International (SGI) members from Guam, the US mainland, Oceania & Japan gathered to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of SGI (January 26, 1975) [and] to unveil a monument dedicated to the SGI's founding & to world peace. On one side of the monument are the opening lines from Mr. Ikeda's novel, The Human Revolution: 'Nothing is more barbarous than war. Nothing is more cruel. And yet, the war dragged on.' On the opposite side are the opening lines from The New Human Revolution: 'Nothing is more precious than peace. Nothing brings more happiness. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.' In the center of the monument are words from Mr. Ikeda, stating 'Rather than seeking after your own praise or glory, I hope that you will dedicate your noble lives to sowing the seeds of peace throughout the entire world. I shall do the same.'"
Martin Luther King, Jr.
