Veterans memorial unveiled in Leesburg
Lead Summary
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The Highland County Press
A two-and-a-half year project to pay respect to the men and women who have risked their lives, and given their lives, to serve their country, has united a community.
The village of Leesburg unveiled its veterans memorial Nov. 11, in honor of Veterans Day. Mayor Jim Cook, who co-chaired the memorial committee along with Charles Newland, said the village worked together to raise the more than $125,000 it took to make the memorial a reality.
“The very first or second week I became mayor I was asked to speak at the Lions Club meeting,” Cook said. “I had been thinking about a local veterans memorial for a long time. My hometown is Jeffersonville and they have a very nice one there, and Wilmington had just put up theirs.”
The memorial honors all veterans from the village of Leesburg and the Fairfield Local School District who have served in the military from 1802 – the year the village was founded – to the current service members.
“We have veterans honored from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam and Desert Storm,” Cook said.
The Lions Club and the memorial committee had an artist’s rendering of the proposed memorial and Dodds Monument of Xenia constructed the memorial, which features 1,123 names. Cook said that each year, if names have been left off or need to be included, they will be added onto the monument.
“All of the committee members met Monday night and we all talked about what we got out of the experience,” Cook said. “It was just 10 people working together, and we got the entire community involved. It was a very gratifying experience that culminated (on Veterans Day).”
The Highland County Press
A two-and-a-half year project to pay respect to the men and women who have risked their lives, and given their lives, to serve their country, has united a community.
The village of Leesburg unveiled its veterans memorial Nov. 11, in honor of Veterans Day. Mayor Jim Cook, who co-chaired the memorial committee along with Charles Newland, said the village worked together to raise the more than $125,000 it took to make the memorial a reality.
“The very first or second week I became mayor I was asked to speak at the Lions Club meeting,” Cook said. “I had been thinking about a local veterans memorial for a long time. My hometown is Jeffersonville and they have a very nice one there, and Wilmington had just put up theirs.”
The memorial honors all veterans from the village of Leesburg and the Fairfield Local School District who have served in the military from 1802 – the year the village was founded – to the current service members.
“We have veterans honored from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam and Desert Storm,” Cook said.
The Lions Club and the memorial committee had an artist’s rendering of the proposed memorial and Dodds Monument of Xenia constructed the memorial, which features 1,123 names. Cook said that each year, if names have been left off or need to be included, they will be added onto the monument.
“All of the committee members met Monday night and we all talked about what we got out of the experience,” Cook said. “It was just 10 people working together, and we got the entire community involved. It was a very gratifying experience that culminated (on Veterans Day).”
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