{"id":41,"date":"2016-03-02T11:39:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T16:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/?page_id=41"},"modified":"2025-10-06T13:56:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:56:05","slug":"memorial-fountain","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/sample-page\/historic-buildings-and-monuments\/memorial-fountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Fountain"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/files\/Fountain-1-1024x963.jpg\" alt=\"Fountain 1\" width=\"585\" height=\"550\" \/>Just outside the Memorial Student Center at the heart of Marshall\u2019s Huntington campus stands the Memorial Fountain\u2014a visible reminder of the 75 lives lost in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/special-collections\/memorial\/default.asp\">Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More than 13 feet high and weighing 6,500 pounds, the memorial was created by sculptor Harry Bertoia. It was his hope the fountain would \u201ccommemorate the living\u2014rather than death\u2014on the waters of life, rising, receding, surging so as to express upward growth, immortality and eternality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Memorial Fountain was dedicated by President John G. Barker on Nov. 12, 1972, to the memory of the plane crash victims. Each year a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/sample-page\/traditions\/annual-fountain-ceremony\/\">memorial service<\/a> is held on the anniversary of the tragedy. The ceremony includes the traditional laying of a\u00a0wreath and the fountain\u2019s water is turned off until the following spring.<\/p>\n<p>Visitors seek out the fountain and for students and alumni it is a landmark\u2014a statement of resiliency, constancy of spirit and a flowing future.<\/p>\n<p>The bronze plaque bears this simple, eloquent inscription:<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cThey shall live on in the hearts of their families and friends forever, and this memorial records their loss to the university and to the community.\u201d<\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>2008 Fountain Rededication<\/h2>\n<p>In early 2008, the Memorial Fountain and its foundation received extensive repairs\u2013most notably\u00a0a\u00a0new granite surface for the foundation; a copper catch tray; and a higher water spray, similar to the original output when the fountain was installed in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>On April 9, 2008, the memorial fountain was rededicated.\u00a0Gov. Joe Manchin III, Marshall President Stephen J. Kopp, family representative Michele Prestera Craig and others spoke during the ceremony, which concluded with the turning on of the fountain for the summer. The fountain is silenced each Nov. 14 during the annual memorial service honoring the victims of the plane crash.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/ucomm\/files\/2012\/10\/FountainRededication_040908.pdf\">Rededication Program<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/windowsmedia.marshall.edu\/ucomm\/FountainRededicationMUMedia.wmv\">View highlights of the rededication ceremony<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Related Information<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>From the\u00a0<em>Herald-Dispatch<\/em>: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/media.herald-dispatch.com\/mucrash\/\">\u201c1970 Marshall Plane Crash \u2013 The Real Story\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>\u00a0\u201cWe Are Marshall\u201d Movie<\/h2>\n<p>The 2006 Warner Bros. feature film\u00a0\u201cWe Are Marshall\u201d\u00a0tells the story of the plane crash tragedy and its aftermath, including efforts to continue the football program after the disaster. The movie exposed the university\u2019s name and story to national and international audiences.\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/movie\">Click here for more information about the movie.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just outside the Memorial Student Center at the heart of Marshall\u2019s Huntington campus stands the Memorial Fountain\u2014a visible reminder of the 75 lives lost in the Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash. More than 13 feet high and weighing 6,500 pounds, the memorial was created by sculptor Harry Bertoia. It was his hope the fountain would<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-sidebar-right.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-41","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":972,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions\/972"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/history-and-traditions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}