This article has been
reprinted with the permission of the Harlan County Journal.
Local man seeks to help Harlan County
honor its veterans
by Kerri Sheldon
Journal Correspondent
The current military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq make
it easier for us to think about those who serve our country. It also
brings to mind those who have served in previous wars.
Many towns and countries have formal monuments for their
veterans. Presently, Harlan County does not have such a monument.
Area veteran Gary Wheeler wants to change that. He is spearheading the
effort to place a veterans' memorial in the City Park in Alma.
Gary served in the U.S. Army, Infantry Division, from 1969
through 1971. He was in Vietnam for about five months before being
severely wounded. He spent one month in Japan and eight months at
Firzsimmons Army Hospital. He has traveled around the country over the
years and he has visited the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall in Washington,
D.C. twice.
The visits to "The Wall" really got him thinking about having
a memorial in Harlan County. Gary had helped to get the plaques for
the Korean and Vietnam veterans placed in the Harlan County Courthouse.
He realized no one else was really making an effort to put a veterans'
memorial in the county so he decided to begin work on the idea himself.
It has been in the planning stages for over a year.
The memorial would be located on the western side of the park
so it would be visible from Highway 183. It would contain a 30-foot
long wall of granite with veterans' names engraved on either side.
There would be four viewing benches. Also there would be seven
flagpoles which would contain the flags from the four major branches of
service plus the Coast Guard and Merchant Marines, and there will also be an
American flag at the center. The plans also call for the flags to have
lighting so they can always be seen.
The granite wall will have designated sections for World War
I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Room will remain
on the wall to add the names of those who have served in other wars, such as
Desert Storm. At the center of each section, there will be an inscription
and the names of those veterans from the Harlan County area killed during
that particular war.
The remaining spaces on the wall will be sold. Any
Harlan County veteran who was honorably discharged, whether they were
drafted or volunteered for service, can purchase a space for their name on
the wall. Also if a veteran's family calls or has called the Harlan
County area home, they may also purchase a space. The spaces cost $125
and the sale of these spaces is how the funds will be raised to build the
memorial.
The Harlan County Foundation is collecting the funds for the
project so any donations made or spaces purchased are 100% tax deductible.
Gary does not want to begin construction of the memorial until all of the
funds for the project have been raised. He estimates at least 400
spaces will need to be sold before he would be able to begin construction.
He would like to begin construction by the fall of this year or sooner if
that is possible.
Gary has made forms available for those interested in
purchasing a space. They have all of the instructions and the contact
information. An individual fills out the form with up to seventeen
characters and spaces per line and sends the form to Gary. Checks are
made payable to the Harlan County Foundation Veterans Memorial. the
forms are available at area banks, MainStreet Printing, and the Harlan
County Journal.
