Veterans Memorial Update

By DON ARNDT

Progress on the new Memorial has started back up again after the long winter. To date we have engraved over 650 bricks with the names of veterans of US Military. Five benches have been set and the Rock shelter has been renovated. There is one bench pad poured that has not been sold as of this date. As a fund Memorial raiser, benches are $1000.00 and that includes the engraving up to six names and the placing on the pad. Most of the landscaping has been completed with some sodding left to finish the job. The parking lot and signage will be completed as weather permits this spring.

We will hold our annual Memorial Day service and the new Memorial dedication Saturday morning May 29th at 10.00 am. We have also set a rain date of Monday morning May 31st at 10.00 am.

We continue to get a few questions about who is authorized to have a brick and when is the deadline. The answer is any veteran that has ever worn the uniform of the US Military that served anywhere in the US at any location in the world during any time period can be honored with a brick. There is no deadline as we are planning on more flat work to accommodate veteran’s memory bricks many years into the future.

We are asked if it is OK to walk around the Memorial and look it over. Of course it is and many are doing just that. Please do be careful walking on it as several rows of bricks are not “set” and are easily shifted.

We are very excited about the new web site that Danny Ferguson designed and constructed for us. Mr. Ferguson donated the entire site and all build costs and explained, “It’s the least I can do for the veterans”. This new web site is active now and ready for viewing. Most of the nearly 700 veteran’s names have already been listed. If after a few more days, you notice a veterans name is still missing, please contact us. E Mail bigdontv@hotmail.com, call Larry Bunch at 816 297 4368 or mail to Memorial, PO Box 330, Adrian, Mo 64720. The web site’s address is vfw.adrianmo.com.

Anyone wanting to add a photo or a story to their loved one’s site page may E Mail it to bigdontv@hotmail.com and it will be added. Please write “Memorial” in the E Mail subject line for me.