A contest was held to encourage high school students to submit design ideas for the memorial wall. Out of 61 entries, the winning design was submitted by Marianne Hanson, a Garfield High School student in the Class of 1950. Hanson was 17 years old when she entered the competition and had no formal architectural training. Her design featured the names of the 762 Seattle graduates who lost their lives in World War II, framed by decorative niches and fountains on either side. The memorial was funded through proceeds from the annual Turkey Day football games and dedicated in 1951, when Hanson herself participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She also wrote the inscription that remains on the wall today: “Youth Hold High Your Torch of Truth and Tolerance Lest Their Sacrifice Be Forgotten.”