Veterans Park Layton Utah

Veterans Park is located between 155 West and 175 West Gentile Street on the east side of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. The park is an irregular shaped plot, planted with grass and trees. The park is maintained by the Layton City Parks Department, but the area is owned by the Oregon Short Line/Union Pacific Corporation.

The Oregon Short Line/Union Pacific railroad ran along Main Street in Layton. The Layton depot and railroad tracks were moved from downtown to a new right of way west of Main Street in 1911-1912. A new, larger freight and passenger depot was built on the east side of the tracks about 350 feet south of Gentile Street. The railroad property also included the piece of property where the park is located.

From the time it was built until the mid-1940s the Layton depot was an important gathering place, particularly during World War I and throughout the 1920s. At that time freight and passenger trains made regular stops in Layton. Crowds would gather there to meet or bid farewell to passengers, pick up or receive freight, or visit the station just to see the trains pass by. In addition to the station there was an area planted in the grass and surrounded by a combination wire fence. The fence was necessary then because herds of cattle and sheep were frequently driven up and down Gentile Street. The fence also kept stray horses and cattle from grazing on the lawn. The stationmaster was probably responsible for the care of the fence and lawn. Since the railroad station was the focal point for the town, the grass areas next to Gentile Street was regarded as a public park. In 1921 four trees were planted in this park as a memorial to four young men from Layton who died during or very shortly after World War I.

Due to railway expansion in 2008 one of those memorial trees was removed and replaced with a new tree in this location.

P F C David Day
Serial No. 4269347

David Day, son of James W and Elizabeth Day, was born May 1, 1897, in Layton, Utah

He was inducted into service in Company M, 8th Infantry, under Captain Graves, August 9, 198. He trained for three months in Camp Fremont and the Camp Mills. While on his way to overseas assignment he was involved in a troop train accident in Geneva, Illinois. He was slightly injured and spent the night of the accident exposed to the rain. He was stricken with flu and died of pneumonia at Camp Mills, New York on November 3, 1918.

Full military honors were given in the burial on Kaysville cemetery, at Kaysville, Utah.

He was the first World War Hero to be buried in Davis County.

P F C Hubert Henry Layton
Serial No. 2780989

Hubert Henry Layton, son of Orson and Ruth E. Layton, was born March 22, 1891, in Layton Utah.

He was married to Dora Jane Dunyon and they had one daughter, Jane Ruth Layton.

Hubert Henry Layton was a graduate from University of Utah and practiced law as an attorney.

He was inducted into service in Battery B of the 348th Field Artillery, April 27, 1918. Three months were spent in training a Camp Lewis and he sailed overseas July 27, 1918.

He was stationed a Clearmont Ferand, France, where he died of typhoid fever, October 19, 1918. He was buried in the American cemetery but was later returned home for final burial in the Wasatch Lawn cemetery at Salt Lake City, Utah.

P F C David Lane Jones
Serial No. 5206305

David Lane Jones, son of Thomas R. and Carrie Mabel Jones, was born February 15, 1899, in Fairfield, Utah but he was raised in Layton, Utah.

He volunteered for service October 3, 1918. He was assigned to Company D. Student Army Training Camp, University of Utah for a few weeks. He was sent home on account of influenza epidemic but was recalled to Fort Douglas, November 18, 1918. He died at Fort Douglas, Utah of influenza, December 1, 1918.

He is buried in the Kaysville cemetery, at Kaysville, Utah.

P F C William Clyde Layton
Serial No. 2259409

William Clyde Layton, son of Charles A. and Victoria J Walker Layton, was born July 11, 1895, in Davis County, Utah.

He was inducted into service September 19, 1917 and was assigned to Machine Gun Company 362nd Infantry, 91st Division. He trained a Camp Lewis, Washington, and Camp Merrit, New Jersey.

In March, 1918 he was granted furlough. He came home and was married to Meldon Kirkham, who returned with him to Washington state. He sailed overseas July 5, 1918.

On the night of July 23rd near Bonnieres-sur-Seine, France a small village about forty miles north of Paris, a troop train on which his company was riding was struck by a heavy freight train. William C. Layton was among those who lost their lives in the wreck. He was killed instantly.

July 15, 1921, the body was returned to America and buried in the Kaysville cemetery, at Kaysville, Utah.

175 West Gentile Street in Layton, Utah

In Honor Of All Who Served

This site was once part of a railroad station where servicemen and servicewomen said “good-bye” to friends and families before departing to serve in the U. S. Armed Forces. This monument, designed by Layton High School student Jyana Messenger, was dedicated November 11, 2000, to honor those Layton citizens who have served their country in the U. S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard and to keep alive their memory for future generations. The circle of connected hands represents the give service branches and the give armed conflicts of the 20th century. It symbolizes stability and strength between fellow servicemen and servicewomen and also serves as their link to future generations.

Four trees were planted in the park in 1921 in memory of four young men who died during World War I. The site was donated to Layton City by the Union Pacific Railroad and named “Veterans Park” on November 11, 1991.

The park has become a deeply meaningful memorial for the people of Layton, Utah.

Those Who Lost Their Lives

WORLD WAR I

• PFC David Day U. S. Army
• PFC David Lane Jones U. S. Army
• PFC Hubert Henry Layton U. S. Army
• PFC William Clyde Layton U. S. Army

WORLD WAR II

• PFC Joseph Allen U. S. Army
• CAPT Edward V. Baranski U. S. Army Air Force
• LT Lewis Barton U. S. Army Air Force
• PFC Howard D. Day U. S. Army
• SEAMAN 1ST CLASS Forrest M. Green U. S. Navy
• PFC Wendell B. Hodson U.S. Marine Corp
• PFC Lewis M. Nalder U. S. Marine Corp
• LT William E. Nalder U. S. Army Air Force
• PFC Donald H. Smith U. S. Army Air Force

KOREAN WAR

• PFC Manual R. Rodarte U. S. Army
• LT Heber J. Whitesides U. S. Air Force

VIETNAM WAR

• CPL Kenneth W. Eckman U. S. Army
• CAPT John C. Ellison U. S. Navy
• PFC Allen B. Glines U. S. Army
• SP4 Ted Pierce U. S. Army
• PFC Thomas H. Schofield U. S. Army
• LT Jesse Brent Stevenson U. S. Army
• CAPT John Paul Wadsworth U. S. Air Force

IRAQI WAR

• SSGT James W. Cawley U. S. Marine Corp
• SGT David J. Goldberg U. S. Army