By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For years, Wood County officials and veterans have believed that those who gave their lives for their country deserved a better memorial for their sacrifice.
Now nearly two decades after it was first proposed, the expanded veterans memorial area in front of the Wood County Courthouse is nearing completion.
The new Veterans Memorial Plaza will be dedicated on Sept. 11, at 10 a.m.
The plan was to pay for the memorial area with contributions from the community. However, the costs were higher than expected – at $442,000 – and the donations came in closer to $223,000.
So the Wood County Commissioners have committed to paying for nearly half of the project.
“Our original intent was to pay for all of it with donated funds,” Wood County Administrator Andrew Kalmar said. “But the commissioners stepped up and said ‘let’s get it going.’”
The former veterans monument area did not recognize veterans of recent wars, and time and weather had taken their toll on the aging monuments on the west lawn in front of the county courthouse.
“We had wars that weren’t even accounted for,” Kalmar said. “We can do better than this.”
Local veterans Zach Migura and Greg Robinette have been working on the program for the dedication of the new veterans memorial plaza.
Migura, director of the Wood County Veterans Service Office, said the plaza will be more accessible and more welcoming to veterans and the community.
And the quality of the project will help the site last for generations.
“This should look pretty much the same for 50 to 100 years,” Robinette said. “The county commissioners decided to do this right.”
In addition to the monuments, there will also be new flagpoles as well as granite benches for people to sit on and reflect.
“It just shows the importance of prioritizing the service of those we lost,” Robinette said. “I think putting it on the courthouse grounds says a lot.”
Efforts were made to not damage the huge tree just to the north of the memorial area.
“Great pains were taken to not disrupt the roots too much,” Robinette said.
The first memorial to be placed on the grounds in 1950 was a monument for local servicemen lost in World War I and World War II, on behalf of Gold Star mothers.
More monuments followed – for those serving in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the local Civil War soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their role with Andrew’s Raiders.
Over the years, the WWI and WWII monument had suffered from weather erosion issues, and the bronze plaque on the front had not allowed for more names to be added appropriately. So the new front of the monument will have the names etched in stone – and will include up to nine additional names identified by the Wood County Genealogical Society.
In 2000, a plan was introduced to renovate the veterans memorial site to make it more easily accessible to veterans, and a place suitable for programs. But the plan failed to progress.
Then in 2019, the issue was revived, when memorial plans were presented at the end of a service honoring Wood County native Edwin Byers, who received the Medal of Honor in 2016 for his role in rescuing a hostage in Afghanistan.
Wood County officials reaffirmed their goal for local veterans to have a memorial site worthy of their service.
A retaining wall has been built along the North Prospect Street sidewalk. Lining that area will be the updated, repaired and cleaned monuments to veterans of World War I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Civil War, and Medal of Honor veterans. Three additional monuments are being installed for Persian War veterans, Gold Star families, and one to honor those who died outside of combat.
The monuments are built to last, Robinette said.
“I think they can withstand a California-strength earthquake,” he said.
Rob Eaton, head of courthouse complex security, and Steve Blausey, head of county maintenance, have been the boots on the ground for the veterans memorial project.
The county has paid attention to detail on the project.
“The new stone is cut from the same quarry as the original stone,” in Barre, Vermont, Kalmar said of the World War I and II monument.
That attention to detail will also be seen in the dedication ceremony – with some people who participated in the Korean War monument dedication in 1994 helping with the program on Sept. 11.
Local veterans and community members will participate in the laying of wreaths at each monument.
Vintage military vehicles from the collections of John Cheney and Tom Price will be on display on Court Street in front of the courthouse.
Local Boy Scout members will raise the colors, and a Wood County Veterans Memorial High School Band is being organized by Brian Myers, to include band members from eight local high schools.
“That will make this a truly countywide event,” Robinette said.
The ceremony will also recognize the anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“It all fell together rather nicely being on the 20th anniversary,” Robinette said.
The keynote speaker will be Major General James R. Camp, the Assistant Adjutant General for Air, Ohio National Guard. He will speak about his experiences on 9/11 and service since then.
Migura said he has seen “overwhelmingly positive support” from the community for the new memorial plaza. And Robinette said members of the local American Legion and VFW are pleased.
“They are very excited about this,” he said.
