Learn More About the NAM Site

The Monument to Naval Aviation started as the vision of Virginia Beach Police Captain Dennis Free. Captain Free felt the community needed something to honor Naval Aviation and the strong connection it has with Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads. He contacted the Hampton Roads squadron of the Association of Naval Aviation in 1997 and they became a partner in the project. Various fund-raising efforts began and in May of 2004, the plans for the project were finalized. In May of 2006, the Monument was dedicated and donated to the City of Virginia Beach.

Architectural Firm:           Cox, Kliewer & Company, P.C. of Virginia Beach, VA
Website: http://www.coxkliewer.com

Statue Artist:                     Michael Maiden of Sandy OR
Website: http://www.michaelmaiden.com

Website Development:  Stratum New Media
Website:  http://www.Stratum.net

Contractor:                        J. M. Sykes Construction, Inc. of Virginia Beach, VA

Contractor:                        Sussex Corp of Virginia Beach

Monument Park:              25th Street and Atlantic Avenue
16,000 Square Feet

Two 18-foot Pylons (at the entrance) to introduce the Monument and Naval Aviation story

Nine bronze statues (approximately eight feet tall) depict the three historic eras and a happy reunion:

Start of Naval Aviation – Figure of Eugene Ely, civilian pilot.  First take-off from a ship in 1910 took place in the waters of Hampton Roads

World War II – Statues of a pilot and his enlisted air crewman emerging from a ship’s hatch rushing to man their aircraft aboard a carrier

Modern Age – 21st-century sculptures debriefing a successful mission around an unloaded bomb skid.  Figures represent a male pilot, a female pilot*, and an enlisted maintenance man. *Note: This is the very first monument to a female combat pilot.

Homcoming – Statues depicting the returning Naval Aviator, his young daughter and his wife holding their toddler

4’ X 4’ Granite Storyboards – Displays depicting Naval Aviation history from 1910 to the present

Aircraft Carrier Monument depicting the ship’s role in Naval Aviation history include:
-Engraved outlines of aircraft carriers
-The names of the more than 160 aircraft and helicopter carriers commissioned
by the United States Navy

Click here for directions to the monument