Frank D. Hargrove Plaza

The Frank D. Hargrove Plaza sits just outside of the Paul and Phyllis Galanti Education Center and overlooks the E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater and James River. This area connects the Shrine of Memory, 20th century to the Shrine of Memory, Global War on Terrorism and Beyond, and has stairs to the Heilman Amphitheater below it. The plaza was named in honor of American politician and World War II veteran, Frank D. Hargrove Sr.

Frank DuVal Hargrove was born in Elmont, Virginia to Arthur W. Hargrove Jr. and Lula D. Hargrove on January 26, 1927. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1945 at seventeen years old, and with his mother’s permission, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, Hargrove completed his education at Virginia Tech and joined his father at the Hargrove Insurance Agency. In 1981, the citizens of Hanover County elected Hargrove to the Virginia House of Delegates where he served for twenty-eight years. During his tenure, Hargrove was instrumental in securing funding from the General Assembly to restore the Shrine after the Memorial fell into disrepair in the early 1990s. He also served as the Chairman of the Board for the Virginia War Memorial and led fundraising efforts to build the Paul and Phyllis Galanti Education Center. Frank Hargrove Sr. died on October 16, 2021, but his memory lives on at the Virginia War Memorial.

“About Frank.” Internet Archive. http://www.hargroveforhouse.com/index.htm. 

Frank DuVal Hargrove Sr. Obituary. Dignity Funeral Home, https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/ashland-va/frank-hargrove-10404528.