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The monument was built by our very own Uncle Charlie (Hicks).
I will try to attach the picture from the paper of the monument. I did add a comment below in red what gives here Charles.

Paul


Desert memorial --- from the
Mohave Daily News – 9/11/2011


DESERT MEMORIAL: Oatman resident Charles “Uncle Charlie” Hicks stands atop the veterans memorial he constructed almost single-handedly using local desert rocks and cement. The 80-year-old Korean War veteran originally intended to build the memorial for his late borther-in-law, but later expanded it to all veterans, adding a lockbox for donations to local veterans’ organizations. JAMES CHILTON/The Daily News

Oatman man’s hand-crafted monument dedicated to all U.S. veterans

By JAMES CHILTON/The Daily News
Published: Sunday, September 11, 2011 2:16 AM MDT
OATMAN — If you’re looking for ways to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and you don’t mind driving a little, it may be worth your while to take a trip to Oatman. More specifically, the desert a few miles south of Oatman proper.

There, on a high ridge of cliffs just off of Mile Marker 21, you’ll see an American flag blowing in the breeze. Next to it is a small stone monument to America’s fallen veterans — which may not be unique in and of itself, until you realize who built it.

The memorial, which consists of two stone pedestals and a series of stairs, was almost single-handedly built by Charles “Uncle Charlie” Hicks, a local 80-year-old veteran who himself served in the Korean War. Though hard of hearing, thanks in no small part to the explosions he endured daily in Korea, Hicks is remarkably spry for his age, and carries himself in the manner of a man at least a generation younger.

It’s that youthful energy that helped keep him going when, in late 2009, he decided to build a memorial for his late brother-in-law, World War II veteran Joe Van Landingham, who had died several years prior. It wasn’t until he finished the memorial in March of 2010, however, that Hicks decided to rededicate it to all U.S. veterans, with a special shout out to his fellow Korean War vets, many of whom died so that he and so many others might live.

“God protected me so many times, it’s unreal.” Hicks said. “I think God wanted me to build this. It’s good for my body, and I’ve always wanted to help people and do things like this.”

The memorial is constructed almost entirely of rocks that Hicks salvaged from the surrounding desert, which he cemented together using nearly 18 bags of cement. On top of the pedestal, he also cemented in several pieces of ammunition he’s collected ovoer the years, each corresponding to a different American conflict: the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, (Charles what happened to the Korean War) and Vietnam. He said the initial pedestal took about three months to complete, but he has since continued to add to it, first constructing the stairs leading up to the memorial, then adding a second pedestal to house a lockbox for cash donations, which he said started showing up spontaneously shortly after he completed the first pedestal.

“I’m glad I made that change to it being for all veterans,” he said. “Because people have been leaving things on the pedestal.”

Hicks said he’s collected about $60 from donations left at the memorial so far, all of which he’s donated to local veterans’ charities. But, he added, not all of the visitors to the memorial have been so charitable. The lock he installed on the lockbox has already been removed once, and someone also stole a pair of Van Landingham’s boots Hicks had placed inside the memorial shortly after he completed it.

Still, Hicks said, he likes the idea of other travelers contributing to the memorial. One traveler has already established a “geocache” for it — geocaching is a fairly recent hobby where travelers will use GPS coordinates to locate small, out-of-the-way caches, usually consisting of a small box or container. In Hicks’ case, the cache is a small plastic tube containing a logbook and various trinkets visitors have left behind, though Hicks said he hopes to eventually start adding some of his own photographs from his days in the Army, and he wants to encourage others to do the same.

Ellen DeLong, who runs the Ocotillo Gallery in Oatman, said many of the visitors traveling Route 66 have stopped in and mentioned visiting the memorial. She said it’s quickly become yet another bit of mystique along Oatman’s particular stretch of the Mother Road.

“A lot of people stop in town and talk about it,” she said. “They’ll see the American flag from the highway, and several will usually go out on the dirt road to take a look.”

For those interested in viewing the memorial themselves, it can be found just off County Highway 10 (Route 66) about 1.5 miles south of the Boundary Cone Road intersection. Traveling southbound, the dirt road leading to the memorial can be found on the right, almost directly across from mile marker 21 — just look for the waving American flag.