Baylor University today celebrated the installation of two bronze statues honoring the institution’s two Medal of Honor recipients, U.S. Army Corps Col. John Riley Kane (BA 1928) and U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Andrew Jackson “Jack” Lummus Jr.
Efforts to honor these Baylor heroes were spurred forward and funded through a gift by A. Haag and Millette Sherman of Houston. The statues were unveiled during a dedication ceremony in the McLane Stadium Plaza.
“We are truly grateful for the generosity of Haag and Millette Sherman and their heartfelt dedication to honoring two of Baylor University’s most decorated heroes: John Kane and Jack Lummus,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “As Medal of Honor recipients, these two Baylor alumni truly served their country selflessly, and we are humbled to count them as members of our Baylor Family. We are forever grateful for their service, and for Jack’s sacrifice, and we are honored to have the privilege of keeping their memories alive through future generations of Baylor students.”
Both multi-sport Baylor Letterwinners, John Kane and Jack Lummus’s likenesses are located on the grounds of McLane Stadium as a reminder of the lives they lived at the University, beyond the heroism they were compelled to display during World War II.
The two men received their honors for heroism in distinctly different circumstances – one as a pilot in the European theatre of World War II, while the other for his ultimate sacrifice on the ragged hills of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Theatre of the war. Haag and Millette Sherman were inspired to create the Medal of Honor tribute as a way to honor Baylor’s history and recognize the singular heroism of Kane and Lummus.
The statues are the work of Baylor alumnus Dan Brook, a Native American artist based in Dallas, Texas, at Brook Studio. The statues honor Lummus and Kane, with both dressed in military uniforms denoting their affiliation and rank within the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army Air Corps (the precursor to the U.S. Air Force), respectively.
“Jack Lummus and John Kane represent the very best of our Baylor Family and our country,” Haag Sherman said about the project and his family’s inspiration for initiating the statue construction. “Their selfless heroics in humankind’s greatest struggle for freedom have immortalized them, and their leadership, service and faith are foundational to both Baylor and our country. Dan Brook’s beautiful work will educate and inspire generations of our Baylor Family and our guests. Millette and I are proud and honored to have played a small part in the commemoration of these heroes.”
