In the fall of 2012 local citizens’ dreams of having a Veteran’s Memorial in Salina started to become a reality as work began on the land at the site of the former Legion Hall on 1st South and State in Salina.
Salina City donated the property for the Memorial, and the Salina Lion’s Club donated the first $1000 to kick off the project. Countless local businesses and citizens worked tirelessly on the project, and many volunteered their talents and time. A $5,000 grant from Home Depot was used for landscaping, Rocky Mountain Power donated $2,000 and the George S. and Delores Eccles foundation awarded a $30,000 grant to the city for the six granite pillars, each of which representing a different branch of the military.
A one-of-a-kind bronze statue was commissioned for the center of the memorial and both Terron Crane and Rodney Rasmussen traveled to Snow College multiple times as the statue was being built to watch its creation, and upon completion, the mold was destroyed so there’s not another one like it anywhere.
The flags and poles were purchased at Colonial Flags in Sandy, Utah, and the six benches in the memorial were sold to interested families, with all proceeds going to continual upgrades and improvements to the memorial.
Engraved bricks are sold to the public in honor of soldiers who have served in the military. The city takes care of the maintenance and upkeep of the site, but further improvements are paid for by private donation and sales of the bricks. The bricks are placed on the wall of honor, which was created as a place where those who have served and are now serving our country can have their names engraved as a permanent reminder of their heroic service. Any veteran from the United States can have their name engraved.
The memorial was dedicated on Veterans’ Day, November 11, 2013, and as the anniversary of this date approaches, local veterans are encouraging everyone to purchase a brick in honor of a serviceman/woman.
“Around the pedestal center there is an octagon shape we’re ready to have engraved with eight plaques, each memorializing the different wars,” said the Veteran Memorial Committee. “The funds received from selling the bricks will be used to pay for these. We encourage everyone to buy a brick for any soldier- they don’t have to be a citizen of Salina or from this area. We’d like to honor as many soldiers as we can. Any soldier, any war, from anywhere.”
To purchase a brick, contact Salina City or fill out the following form and mail it to Salina City with the $100 purchase price.
“Pretty much every business in town supported us in the creation of the memorial, for which we are so grateful,” committee members said. “The community really got behind this project and we’d just like to remind everyone that bricks to honor service men and women are available to purchase to help with continual improvement costs.”
