War Memorial Fieldhouse
1950-1986

On this site stood the War Memorial Fieldhouse from 1950 – 1986

The building was constructed during World War II as a community center for the Topaz Japanese Relocation Center near Delta, Utah. It was re-constructed on this site following the war as an athletic/recreational facility for the college campus and southern Utah community. It was built, according to college director H. Wayne Driggs, as a memorial to the servicemen who had given their lives “that the American way of life might long endure.” The building was dedicated December 8, 1950, by Oscar Hulet, President of the College Alumni Association. The fieldhouse was build in the southern Utah tradition by people willing to sacrifice their time, labor and money for the larger good of the community.

War Memorial Fieldhouse was razed in 1986 following the completion of the Centrum. This site, however, continues to remain hallowed ground. What could be more fitting than a living memorial where citizenship, leadership, service and comradery are exhibited and taught daily in a facility recognized as the “heart” of the campus, the student center? it too, is dedicated to the memory of those who served their country in the cause of freedom.

This plaque is in the Sharwan Smith Student Center at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah