Gov Domain Icon

Official websites use .gov
.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

https icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
lock (Lock Icon) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Women’s History Month: The artist behind the Honolulu Memorial’s battle maps

Published March 31, 2023

To end this year’s Women’s History Month, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) spotlights the woman behind the battle maps housed in the Honolulu Memorial’s pavilions.

Mary Morse Hamilton Jacobs, a well-known artist from Baltimore, Maryland, has twice redesigned the mosaic battle maps displayed in the pavilions at ABMC’s Honolulu Memorial, which honor the American armed forces who fought in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean War.

The first maps were originally designed by Richard and Carlotta (Gonzales) Lahey of Vienna, Virginia, and made according to an Italian technique which did not withstand the Hawaiian weather and required replacement. The four new maps made of precast tinted mosaic concrete and colored-glass-aggregate were designed and fabricated at Early Studios in Manassas, Virginia, under Jacobs’ supervision.

However, a major conflict was not represented and a new pavilion dedicated to the Vietnam War was added in 2012. Again, ABMC worked with Jacobs for the design of the conceptual art for continuity. Constructed by The Armbruster Company of Glenview, Illinois, the two additional maps honor the service members who fought during the Vietnam War. They show the overall theater of the war and major battles sites. Those mosaic maps are unique works of art, vibrant in color and in keeping with the existing t World War II and Korean War maps.

You can learn more about the battle map mosaics and the creation of the Vietnam War pavilion at the Honolulu Memorial here: Commemorating the Vietnam War at the Honolulu Memorial – YouTube

The ABMC’s mission is to honor the service of the U.S. Armed Forces by creating and maintaining memorial sites, commemorating their service and sacrifice, and facilitating the education of their legacy to future generations. The ABMC was founded in 1923 following World War I, and its 26 cemeteries and 31 monuments honor the service men and women who fought and perished during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, as well as some who fought during the Mexican-American War. The contributions of women like Josephine L. Bentley and Cora W. Baker—the agency’s first two female commissioners – or Jacobs, and all of those who have served with ABMC over the last 100 years continue to move the agency and its mission forward.

Battle map of the fighting at Okinawa during World War II

 

Battle map illustrating the liberation of the Philippines during World War II Battle map illustrating the operations against North Koreans during the Korean War. Battle map illustrating the American ground war in south Vietnam between 1965 and 1973.

Sources: ABMC.gov, ABMC Historical Services, Vietnam War Memorial Battle Maps (armbrusterco.com)

No image description available

About ABMC

The American Battle Monuments Commission operates and maintains 26 cemeteries and 31 federal memorials, monuments and commemorative plaques in 17 countries throughout the world, including the United States. 

Since March 4, 1923, the ABMC’s sacred mission remains to honor the service, achievements, and sacrifice of more than 200,000 U.S. service members buried and memorialized at our sites. 

Related Content

American Battle Monuments Commission commemorates 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg

American Battle Monument Commission, Gold Star Families honor hundreds of previously missing Vietnam Veterans at Honolulu Memorial

More than 1,000 bronze rosettes placed at American Battle Monuments Commission’s Honolulu Memorial

American Battle Monuments Commission places more than 1,000 bronze rosettes at Honolulu Memorial

U.S. soldier from Indiana accounted for from WWII

U.S. service member from New Hampshire accounted for from WWII