Davidson dedicates a monument to the town's military veterans

Davidson's new Veterans Monument was dedicated Nov. 11, 2025, in front of the Davidson Post Office. (David Boraks photo)

After years of discussions and fundraising, the Town of Davidson now has a public monument to citizens who served the nation in the armed forces. 

The new veterans monument by artist Douwe Blumberg sits in front of the post office. It's called "Flames of Honor," for its trio of intertwined glass flames atop curving metal legs. Seals of each branch of the military are attached to the legs, which are set in a newly landscaped plaza.

That plaza has been renamed Nancy H. MacCormac Plaza in honor of Davidson's first woman mayor, who served from 1978 to 1984.

"This dream of developing a monument to serve and honor veterans and their families has been a long time coming," monument committee chair and former Mayor John Woods said during a dedication Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. "I remember discussions of this and dreams of this back in 1980. It's taken this long and many discussions to get to this point."

The Town of Davidson Public Art Commission contributed $25,000 toward the $250,000 project. Most of the rest of the money came from private donations to

a fund-raiser led by local veterans.  As of dedication day, $235,249 had been raised and $233,664 had been spent, a town spokesperson said.

Blumberg also spoke at the dedication, thanking the town for the chance to honor veterans with words that echoed his sculpture. 

"The flames of our liberty and freedom have been held aloft and kept alive by generations of men and women who have honorably heeded their nation's call, and it is these personal acts of selfless service through our history that we own. It is important that we publicly contribute to and express our gratitude to these heroes, past, present and future. And I thank the town of Davidson for this opportunity to help them do so," Blumberg said. 

More about the memorial on the town website.