Two weeks ago, the Veterans Memorial Park, received the new organization’s nonprofit designation. There has been little dust settled since organizers announced the proposed construction of a park just south of the Byron Cox American Legion Post on South Washington Street.
Members of the nonprofit board, the Crawfordsville-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and other community members came together Monday for a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the project, which will honor all veterans.
The idea of constructing a park to honor veterans started with board member Bill Durbin. He was visiting Fairmount five years ago and saw the city’s impressive display and brought the idea back to Montgomery County. The idea caught the attention of several veterans and a committee was formed to turn the idea into a reality.
“I was in Fairmount for the Jimmy Dean Festival and drove by their American Legion and noticed this veterans memorial park,” Durbin said. “Fairmount’s park is very nice and I immediately thought we might want to do something like that in Crawfordsville.”
Durbin and others, including Mike Spencer, Mark Eustler, Marc Gable, Bob Carstensen and Kevin Cobb have formed a local board to oversee the plans. Initially, the group wanted to use the Army Static Display Program (Tacom), which distributes condemned or obsolete Army equipment for static display purposes. But, the men soon realized it would take a while to get a donated item, so they decided to start the project with private donations.
“We thought we could get some things from Tacom and the Legion applied,” Durbin said. “We qualify for equipment for display, but we were told it could be six or seven years for them to have something to send us. We are in line but we don’t know when we will get anything from them. We didn’t want to wait any longer, so we are raising private donations.”
Plans for the park include a restored 1969 Huey helicopter used in the Viet Nam Conflict as a centerpiece for the park. There also will be nine flags, including all six military branches. The flags will be displayed around a 30-foot circle made of 7,000 brick surrounding a six foot granite marker. Local painter Flip Walters will create a patriotic-themed mural on the storage shed at the rear of the property.
Organizers hope to have all the brick paid for by donations. For $100 per brick, any resident, business or organization can purchase a brick and have three lines engraved in the brick in honor of any veteran. The brick will be black. There will be special white bricks for any veteran who was killed in action, missing in action or a prisoner of war.
In just two weeks, the board has raised $20,000 for the project, which is estimated to cost $120,000. The price includes construction and maintenance of the property.
“This is a perpetual memorial and we will continue to add more displays as we have them,” Cobb said. “We are asking anyone who has an item that we could display to contact us.”
Board members also want the memorial to help educate generations to come about the men and women who have served their country in the armed services.
The Veterans Memorial Park is not directly associated with the local Legion. However, the Legion men and women have a keen interest in the park and will do what it can. The Sons of the American Legion has already donated to the project.
“This is not the board’s park or the Legion’s park,” Cobb said. “It is the people’s park.”
The Huey helicopter will be ordered soon. It will be painted with a shark’s mouth on it similar to one a member of the local color guard served on in Viet Nam.
It is estimated Phase 1 of the park, which includes the flag display and Huey helicopter, will be completed in the summer of 2024.
To make a contribution to the Veterans Memorial Park mail a check made out to Veterans Memorial Park to P.O. Box 804, Crawfordsville, IN 47933.
For more information email www.veterans.memorial.47933@gmail.com.
