You’re invited to take part in patriotic history this week, as earth is turned for the Garner Veterans Memorial on Friday, Nov. 16, at 10 a.m.
The Garner Veterans Memorial Committee and the Town of Garner will join with veterans, community leaders and elected officials to break ground for this long-planned $500,000 memorial meant to honor all veterans, and particularly the Garner residents who died during a military conflict.
“What our veterans put on the line, especially those that gave all, is a debt we can’t pay,” said Harold Annis, chair of the Garner Veterans Memorial Advisory Board in an interview last fall. “We should, at the very least, recognize and honor them.”
“This touches every person in our community, either directly or indirectly,” added Faye Gardner, board vice chair. “We see the pride veterans have, and we want to acknowledge their sacrifices.”
Local veterans are also among members of the nonprofit Garner Veterans Memorial Committee, formed in 2006 to begin planning. In 2009, the Town of Garner donated a memorial site at Lake Benson Park, and pledged funds for the project in 2012.
“Interactive” and “educational” are words used to describe the memorial design, which was selected via a statewide competition won by Wake County firm Clearscapes Architecture + Art.
Lead architect Mong Pen Yueh, a Garner resident, says while most veterans’ memorials are designed for a specific conflict, the Garner Veterans Memorial Committee set out to create a site that honors all veterans since the birth of our nation in 1776, and through future conflicts.
“Each segment represents one decade in the history of the United States,” Yueh said. “Inside the memorial, larger panels on one side list the wars the nation was involved in during that decade. Smaller panels on the other side list local veterans who lost their lives in those wars. As you walk through the memorial, you are walking through history.”
The panels offer details on U.S. conflicts, with 18 benches to be placed recognizing decades of peacetime; about half of the benches have already been donated by businesses, individuals and civic groups, the committee noted, to honor veterans in their organizations.
Also part of the memorial, a Walkway of Honor will contain memorial bricks to honor any veteran, living or dead, local or otherwise. To date, more than 500 bricks have been sold for placement in the walkway as part of the construction.
Anticipated completion of the project is spring 2013, with a formal dedication on Memorial Day 2013.
In addition to honoring local veterans, Gardner says the Garner Veterans Memorial will offer economic development value through tourism, and educational and cultural value.
Friday’s groundbreaking will be held at the memorial site located at Lake Benson Park, 921 Buffaloe Road.
For additional information, or to purchase memorial bricks or benches, contact Gardner at (919) 772-6440 or faye@garnerchamber.com or visit www.garnerveteransmemorial.org.
