Johnson County offices closed May 26 for Memorial Day
Memorial Day is coming up this Monday, May 26. Johnson County Government administrative offices, libraries and health clinics will be closed on this day, in observance of the holiday. Additionally, transit services will not be in operation.
Johnson County Park and Recreation District parks and trails will be open on Memorial Day during regular park hours. Tomahawk Hills and Heritage Park golf courses will also be open during regular hours. Ernie Miller Nature Center will be closed Monday, May 26.
Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day and commemorates all men and women who have died in military service for the United States. The holiday provides an extended weekend for many, and it’s also an opportunity to honor those who gave their lives serving our country.
Johnson County memorials honor those who died serving our country
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Vietnam Memorial Plaza at Antioch Park
Two Johnson County Government memorials honor 81 service men killed or missing in action from World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War.
The Navy Park at New Century AirCenter on the northeast edge of Gardner commemorates 24 Navy and Marine aviators who were either killed in action or listed as missing in action from WWII and the Korean War.
The small memorial park was originally part of the bygone Olathe Naval Air Station that trained naval pilots for both wars. The military base was nicknamed the Prairie Navy.
Dedicated on Dec. 8, 1950, as the Naval Air Park and later renamed the Navy Park, the memorial park was created to honor 16 Navy and Marine aviators who trained at the military base and were killed in WWII. Sixteen streets of the Olathe Naval Air Station also were named in their honor. After the base was closed 55 years ago, the street signs were relocated to the Navy Park.
During the Korean War, three squadrons of Navy Reservists were called to active duty from the Olathe military base. A plaque at Navy Park honors five men killed in that war along with three MIAs.
The Olathe Naval Air Station operated from 1942 to 1969 and was decommissioned in 1970. The Johnson County Airport Commission acquired the former military base site from the Navy in 1973 and renamed it the Johnson County Industrial Airport. The name was changed to the New Century AirCenter in 1994.
On Veterans Day 1974, Johnson County dedicated the Vietnam Memorial Plaza at Antioch Park in Merriam. It was the first public memorial in the Kansas City metro region in honor of KIAs and MIAs from the Vietnam War. A bronze plaque at the plaza lists and honors 57 Johnson County soldiers lost in that war. The Vietnam Memorial Plaza was rededicated on Memorial Day 1998.
City parks in Olathe, Shawnee, Gardner and Spring Hill also feature veterans memorials. The Korean War Veterans Memorial is in Overland Park.