WW2 General Maurice Rose To Be Honored With Statue In Denver

DENVER, CO — A statue of a famous Colorado 2-star general is set to be installed outside the Capitol after legislation was approved for the memorial project.

Gov. Jared Polis and other Colorado leaders gathered Tuesday morning in a dedication ceremony for General Maurice Rose, the highest-ranking U.S. serviceman killed as a prisoner of war in World War II.

Rose, who was raised in Denver, is considered the most distinguished Jewish-American soldier in our nation's history. His biographer, Marshall Fogul, said Rose accomplished becoming a great hero despite "rampant" antisemitism in the military during World War II.

"The high command of the United States Army in World War II recognized General Rose as responsible for shortening World War II due to his strategic skills and unique military leadership abilities," Fogul said in a statement.

The 10-foot bronze statue of Rose, which is set to go up in Lincoln Park, has been designed by one of Colorado’s leading sculptors, George Lundeen, of Loveland.

The statue will take around 6 months to manufacture once enough funds are raised, officials said.

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Rose died at age 45 in 1945 at the end of World War II. The most decorated armored battlefield commander in U.S. military history, Rose was awarded: The Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Legion of Merit with an Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster, French Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre with Palm and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm.

The following list of his accomplishments is published on the Rose Monument website:

• First to fire artillery shells into Germany
• First to invade across the German border
• First to capture a German town
• First to breach the Siegfried Line
• First to shoot down a German plane with guns emplaced on German soil
• First to capture a major German city (Cologne)
• First ground invasion of Germany since Napoleon
• Record Holder of the longest one-day advance in history (101 miles)
• He was instrumental as the principal negotiator of the first major surrender of Axis forces to American forces in World War II (Tunisia 1943)

>> Community members can learn more about the Rose Monument project and how to make contributions here.