The Old Guard military statue to be unveiled Sunday in Perryville

A new military monument at Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville honors the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also called The Old Guard, which is the nation's oldest active Army unit. The Perryville statue will be the third such statue created by St. Louis sculptor Barbara Mungenast.

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A new statue at Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial (MNVM) in Perryville will pay tribute to the oldest active regiment in the U.S. Army.

An unveiling ceremony for The Old Guard monument is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 9, at the MNVM. Representatives from the memorial, past and present, will be in attendance, as will veterans who served in the military regiment honored by the larger-than-life bronze statue.

The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment has been serving the country since 1784 in both active and ceremonial roles. Its members oversee dignified transfers of fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and full honors funerals at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington are also part of this regiment.

“The Old Guard represents the past, present and the future of our service members,” MNVM executive director Rae Lynn Munoz said. “It is not for one era or one conflict, such as the Vietnam Wall, but it is for all.”

The statue consists of three military figures dressed in different uniforms, celebrating different roles in the regiment. These are represented by a soldier in a combat uniform, a Fife and Drum Corps soldier and a guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The monument will be identical to two other The Old Guard statues, one at the regiment’s headquarters at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia and another in Jefferson Barracks Park near St. Louis. Barbara Mungenast, a lifelong St. Louis resident, designed the three statues.

Mungenast had visited the Perryville memorial and met with founding MNVM executive director Nancy Goose and board member Roger Wibbenmeyer about installing a The Old Guard monument there. Work on the Perryville statue began following a groundbreaking ceremony July 29.

Munoz said the memorial is designed both to honor The Old Guard and inform visitors about military history.

“Our youth are our leaders and our veterans of tomorrow,” she said. “… It touches so much and when those kids come on this campus and see this monument, if it sparks their interest, then we’re furthering the mission of teaching all of our constituents and visitors about not only Missouri’s rich military history, but how we’ve become as a nation.”