Crazy Horse Memorial and Military Veterans

Since the first blast on the mountain on June 3, 1948 there has been a relationship between the Crazy Horse Memorial and military veterans and especially Native American veterans. First you would have to look at the personal history of one of the founders of the Memorial, Korczak Ziolkowski, a noted sculptor who worked on Mt Rushmore in 1939 and won first place at the Worlds Fair in 1939 for his sculpture of Paderewski. He volunteered at the age of 34 for the Army in 1943 and three days after D-Day landed on Omaha Beach Normandy where he was wounded. The military experience and sacrifices of so many had a profound effect on Korczak and to this day admission to the Memorial is waived for active duty military, Native Americans, Boy Scouts in uniform and local county residents.

In 2000 Ruth Ziolkowski approved a new program to allow veterans of the local VA hospital in Hot Springs, SD to work at the Crazy Horse Memorial and Korczak’s Heritage through a compensatory work therapy program. It is a beneficial program for both the veterans and the Crazy Horse Memorial and Korczak’s Heritage and numerous veterans have participated in the program to present date.

Another program that started in the local Custer, SD area occurred in 2011 with the new non-profit Operation Black Hills Cabin to say thank you to any 30% minimum Combat Injured veteran from any post-9/11 military operation and his immediate family for a one-week respite in a cabin in Custer free of charge. Crazy Horse Memorial and Korczak’s Heritage have offered waived admission, a meal at the Laughing Water Restaurant, and a bus to base tour to the average 17 families each summer. Since 2011 166 families from 37 states have been guests of the Operation Black Hills Cabin. Since 2015 Terry DeRouchey, also a military veteran, has collected van ride tickets donated by Storytellers each year to be able to take the veteran and his immediate family for a trip of a lifetime to the top of the mountain carving. Thanks to the generosity of Storytellers he has been able to take all combat injured veterans and their families as part of the Operation Black Hills Cabin to the top.

Thanks to the efforts of Gift Officers Joanne Sutton and Kaye Weninger along with Visitor Services a number of Wounded Warriors had the opportunity to take a trip of a lifetime to the top of the mountain carving on October 5, 2023.

The tribute to the accomplishments and sacrifices of Native American veterans came about in 2019 when a different Native American veteran was honored each week at Crazy Horse Memorial and where all veterans are recognized. American Indians per capita have had the highest percentage of their people in military service exceeding every American ethnic group. Make sure to visit us online too: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/