Soldiers Memorial at Howrey Field Park

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

These fields are dedicated in memory of the servicemen who died on site in June, 1967, while volunteering to help make these athletic fields possible for the community.

Lest We Forget
PVT. Paul D. Briggs • PVT. Anthony B. Evans • PFC Marvin D. Harrison • PVT. Charles R. Oliver • SPC.4 Kenneth G Steiner • PVT. Charles M. Whaley

More about this marker: The memorial is in a public park, but is privately maintained.


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Regarding Soldiers Memorial at Howrey Field Park:

On June 1st, 1967, six young soldiers from Fort Belvoir were electrocuted at Howrey Field nwhen they lost control of a 45-foot flag pole that they were installing at the ball fields. The flag pole had been placed in a hole but started to sway. The soldiers were trying to steady the pole when it fell onto a 7,200-volt electric line. The victims were part of a ten-man team of the 77th Engineer Port Construction Company. As community service, the team was preparing the ball fields for opening day. The six soldiers, who were all under the age of 22, were Pvt. Paul Briggs, Pvt Anthony Evans, PFC Marvin Harrison, Pvt. Charles Oliver, Spec. Kenneth Steiner, and Pvt. Charles Whaley. Memorial services were held at the Fort Belvoir Chapel and later at the Howrey fields. Public memorial services are held on 1 June each year around 5 PM.


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Who was Howrey Park named for?

Trial lawyer Edward F. Howrey and his wife Jane Gould Howrey purchased the nearby historic Oak Hill mansion in 1931. Civil engineer Ernest Johnson reported that the house demonstrated significant deterioration and damage. The Howreys renovated the house in the Colonial Revival style, directed by restoration architect Walter M. Macomber. These renovations uncovered Confederate cash hidden under the floorboards. Among other changes, moldings from the Italianate Riggs Mansion in Washington, D. C. were rescued upon the demolition of that building and installed at Oak Hill.

The house changed hands four times before being purchased in 1986 by Andrew and Carol Sheridan. The home was saved from development by the new owners in 1995, Seville Homes, due to an easement prompted by the Oak Hill Citizens Association. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.