Montana Naval Forces Monument

The United States is an island nation. For the first 150 years of our history the Navy had the primary responsiblity for the defense of the nation. Montana has given to the naval forces of the United States in relation to her size, not her population. Montana has the highest per capita veteran population in the nation. Over 10% of Montanans are veterans. Of the 100,000 veterans in Montana there are tens of thousands of Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine veterans. There is no monument in Montana celebrating the ships of the Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

What will the Montana Naval Forces Monument look like?

Imagine a concrete pad thirty feet in diameter. In the center of the pad is a stone with two sheets of steel, three feet by six feet, mounted on it. One side of the rock is dedicated to the merchant ships and landing craft with a Montana naming tie. On the other side is the story and graphic of the battleship Montana. Since Montana is the only state in the lower 48 that never had a battleship namesake, the proposed Montana, BB-67, is used to illustrate the size of the rest of the ships in relation to the levee at Fort Benton. Around the outside edge of the pad are about 26 (so far) steel pipes representing mooring bollards with the story of the combat ships on the face of the pipe.

Why Fort Benton?

Fort Benton is the head of navigation of the Missouri River. Fort Benton is the world's innermost port. Fort Benton has four home sons that went to the Navy and reached the rank of admiral, more than any other small town in America. Fort Benton has some 23 monuments, memorials, museums, statues and visitor centers.

Where in Fort Benton?

Fort Benton has a large park next to the Missouri River. There is a traffic circle on the south end of the park and across the street is a small triangular park. That park holds the Doughboy Statue and memorial to our boys from Chouteau County who died in World War I. A World War II memorial is next to the Doughboy. At the other corner of the park is a memorial for a B-17 crew that was lost over Chouteau County during World War II. At the third corner is the dedication stone for all of our veterans of all the services. The Montana Naval Forces Monument will be towards the southern end of the Veteran Park within viewing distance of the flag poles at the Lewis and Clark Monument which is across the street on the Fort Benton Levee.

What is it going to take?

The Monument Committee has produced a plan and a budget that is highlighted on the following pages. At the end of this site you will find information on all of the ships the Monument Committee has found that have a naming tie to Montana. If we have missed a ship please, please, please let us know so that we can do a job that is worthy of our veterans.