Push-to-the-finish campaign and update for the Wright County Veterans Memorial

Members of the Honor Project Committee have been working with the Wright County VFW members since 2016 to plan and fund a memorial to honor Wright Co. Veterans.

 After considerable review of the original concept, the Committee determined that engraving the names of the honored Veterans directly on the marble monuments and adding additional names over time, would prove to be extremely costly.  This resulted in a review of the overall project design. The committee sought out design input from four Minnesota monument companies and settled on the design provided by Murphy Granite of Richmond, MN.

The revised Honor Project will include engraved pavers along an Honor Walk rather than engrave the names of Veterans on the marble monuments. The Honor Walk will consist of a brick paver pathway with the names of honored Veterans lining the sides of the walkway, thus allowing names to be easily added at a more reasonable cost, both now and in the future. The project will still consist of two monuments, the main monument, and a focal point monument. The main monument is a tribute to all who served on the main panel, flanked by recognitions to the Wright County VFW and VFW Auxiliary.  The base will feature the insignias of all nine branches of service. The focal point monument will feature the soldier’s cross, boots, rifle, and helmet, and will include tributes to the character and contributions of the fallen and their families.

The Committee has raised $35,000 over the past four years, and now have enough to complete Phase I, II and III of the Honor Project:  Phase 1: the monument footings; Phase II: install the main and focal point monuments, which were ordered months ago, however, significant delays in materials and production due to the Covid pandemic pushed back the installation of the monuments to late this year.  Phase III: the installation of the front half of the walkways and Auxiliary recognition pavers.  We expect to have Phases I, II and III completed in early November 2021, with an unveiling ceremony after Veterans Day on Saturday Nov. 13, 2021 starting at 1:00 p.m. We invite all our donors, Veterans, and their families to attend. Light snacks, coffee and juice will be provided.

Cameron Ryks, an Eagle Scout candidate from the Montrose Troop, Scouts BSA, has really stepped up to take on the completion of Phases I, II and III as an Eagle Project.  He will be developing paver installation and landscaping plans, as well as coordinating and leading the work to bring the project to Phase IV, the Honor Walk, which is expected to be completed next year.  He has really taken on a lot with this project!

 The Honor Project Committee would also like to give their heartfelt “Thank You!” to those who have donated funds to bring the project to this point.  Many of whom have been very generous:

 Double Diamond Level (Twice Over $4,000): Buffalo Baseball Association, whose donations pushed funding to the Phase III level.

Platinum Level ($1,500-$2,000): Montrose Volunteer Firemen’s Relief Association and Montrose Lions Club; Carpentry Contractors Company, Montrose; Greg and Patty Youmans, of Montrose.

Gold Level ($1,000-$1,499):  Citizens State Bank, Montrose - Waverly; Ryan Auto Mall, Buffalo; Steve Leinonen, Annandale; Scouts BSA Troop 312, Montrose; Eagle Scout Candidate Cameron Ryks, Troop 312; Montrose Beyond the Yellow Ribbon; Wade and Tracy Gurneau, of Montrose.

Silver Level ($500-$999): Montrose; Landscape Structures, Delano; Marketon Auto Body, Montrose; Thomes Insurance Agency, Buffalo;  Richard and Marilyn Thompkins, of Montrose; Lonnie and Arliss Johnson, of Montrose; Michael Brossard, of Delano; Tony and Lyne Daniels, of Buffalo.

Bronze Level ($100-$499):  Delano American Legion; Montrose Lioness Club; Woodland Township Community Chest; Cemstone Products, Delano MN; Kathleen and William Schmidt, of Buffalo; Cody Otto, of Montrose.

The Project Committee is still raising funds for the remaining phase of the Honor Project, Phase IV, the installation of the brick walkways and recognition pavers for the Honor Walk; conversion of the wooden crosses to engraved brick pavers along the walkway and the installation of purchased recognition pavers for other Wright Co. affiliated Veterans.

The cost to convert 484 existing crosses to engraved pavers is quite considerable and will entail substantial fund-raising efforts. Estimates for completing Phase IV is approximately $13,000.

Our continuing fundraising efforts include: donations from Wright County businesses; purchases of recognition pavers to honor Veterans with ties to Wright County; a low-cost, Cross-to-Paver conversion option for families converting existing crosses to pavers, with the Veteran’s family or donor keeping the retired cross of their honored Veteran, and an Adopt-a-Veteran program.

Many of the Veterans on the earliest crosses date back to WW1, The Great War, Spanish American War and even the Civil War.  Locating family members for these early Veterans is very difficult, if not impossible, so we are asking those who can to “Adopt-a-Veteran” and make donations to cover these Cross-to-Paver conversions.  Additionally, much of the background information for the Veterans memorialized on these early crosses was lost due to a computer failure.  We would ask that any relatives or others with knowledge of these early Wright County Veterans, help us to restore the information pertaining to their military service.

We will continue the paver fund raiser where donors may purchase a brick paver to honor a living or deceased Veteran with connections or ties to Wright County. However, we are reducing the cost of pavers to increase participation in this fund-raising program. Contact one of our Honor Project Committee members for information on how to order a paver to honor a Veteran.

The Committee is also asking local businesses, organizations, and the community to redouble their generous contributions to fund the remaining phase and bring the project to completion. Monetary donations may be sent to VFW Post 1901 - Honor Project, PO Box 278, Montrose, MN 55363. For more information on purchasing brick pavers, call Greg Youmans at (612) 597-3637, Patty Youmans at (612) 597-3693, or Tracy Gurneau at (612) 559-7411.

Honoring our fallen heroes is our sacred duty as Americans. Heroes don’t wear capes; they wear dog tags! Gen. George S. Patton, said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men (and women) who died.  Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”

We remember our fallen heroes, not so much in mourning, but rather in grateful reverence for their sacrifice.   We remember them, because by their sacrifice, they have secured for us the priceless gift of freedom, a debt that can never be repaid.  May God bless our heroes, and may God continue to bless America!