Located near the northern park entrance just off the main walkway.

An inscribed granite marker standing about 7 feet high.

Known as the Monument of American Heroes, the granite marker memorializes 378 American servicemen who died in Romania during the war; many were killed while bombing the strategic oil fields at Ploiesti. It was dedicated in 2002, further cementing the amicable post-Cold War relationship between the two countries. Many of these 378 fell during Operation “Tidal Wave”, the bombing of the Romanian oil fields.

The leader of this raid on August 1, 1943 was John R. Kane.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership and bravery during this difficult mission.  From Arlington Cemetery.net:

Colonel John Riley "Killer" Kane won the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in combat above the lead-filled skies of Rumania, over the Nazi-controlled oil fields at Ploesti.

Kane, son of a Baptist preacher, came to Shreveport in 1933, the same year Barksdale Field was opened by the Army in nearby Bossier Parish. Kane continued to call Shreveport his home, and was later stationed at Barksdale Field after he joined the air service.

Kane led the third element of an August 1, 1943 B-24 attack (Operation Tidal Wave)  against the Rumanian oil fields and refineries at Ploesti. It was one of the most heavily defended sites in Nazi-controlled Europe.

By accident, Kane's element in the attack, the 98th Bombardment Group, also known as the Pyramiders, reached its target out of sequence and after another group had attacked, fully alerting its defenses. Kane assumed the duty of attack commander and, risking his own life, circled the target in his own plane to direct the bombers that attacked the target from treetop level -- and sometimes lower.

By the time Kane's bomber left the target, it had lost an engine, been struck more than 20 times by heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire and had uncountable bullet holes. Kane's decision to circle as the command aircraft also had used up any reserve of fuel the plane had for its return to base in North Africa. Kane's airplane, "Hail Columbia," crash-landed in Cyprus on the return leg.

Of 178 airplanes that left on the raid, 54 never returned.

In one of his last public statements, a foreword to air historian Michael Hill's book The Desert Rats, the colonel summed up his feelings about the historic mission.

"I still recall the smoke, fire and B-24s going down, like it was yesterday... Even now, I get a lump in my throat when I think about what we went through ... I didn't get the Medal of Honor. The 98th did."

The text is written in English and Romanian of separate sides.

The monument reads, down its left side in English:

In memory of the 378 U.S. servicemen killed in the line of duty in Romania during World War II for the freedom of Europe and the glory of the United States of America. Their heroic sacrifice will forever live in our memory and our thoughts, full of piety and admiration, will accompany their journey down the endless road of eternity.

To the fallen of Romania

To you who fly on forever, I send that part of me which is bound to you for all the time. I send to you those of out hopes and dreams that never quite came true. The joyous laughter and tears of our boyhood. The mysteries of our adolescence. The glorious strength and tragic illusions of our young manhood. All these that were and perhaps would [sic] have been I leave in your care out there in the blue.

John Riley Kane

Col. USAF (Ret)