Sculpture Arrives In Dubuque For Veterans Memorial Plaza

A stainless-steel tribute to military veterans arrived Wednesday in Dubuque. Standing 24 feet tall and weighing 18,000 pounds, a spiraling sculpture named “Skyward” that is a centerpiece of a project to reshape Veterans Memorial Plaza on Chaplain Schmitt Island was lowered into place on the memorial pier. The sculpture’s arrival was a landmark moment for the $3.2 million project, which work crews started on this spring. Planning started two years ago. Upon completion of the memorial in May, people will be able to walk inside the sculpture and read the engraved lines of the poem “Rain,” by World War I officer Edward Thomas. The poem remarks on the sacrifice of human life in war.