June 1, 2002

Veterans memorial is taking shape

By JOHN LeBAS
Eagle Staff Writer

A natural clearing in the trees marks where U.S. service men and women from the Brazos Valley and beyond will be memorialized in shade and solitude.

In that clearing off Texas 30, disturbed dirt, construction equipment and freshly poured concrete mark the physical beginnings of the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. After months of planning, the memorial is now taking shape, from the 75-foot orchestra stage to the triangular area where a centerpiece sculpture will stand.

“The idea is to create an area of seclusion where people can reflect quietly,” Travis Small, the project’s acting president, said during a recent visit to the site, which is part of the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex in College Station.

With dedication ceremonies less than six months away, organizers say they’re thrilled — even a little overwhelmed — by the public response to the project.

As of Friday, fund-raising goals had been exceeded by more than 30 percent. Four times as many veterans’ names as originally expected have been submitted for a list that will be engraved on the memorial’s honor wall.

With such success, members of the nonprofit organization overseeing the memorial’s development are rolling up their sleeves, focused on completing the site and planning the Nov. 11 dedication. The Veterans Day event is expected to draw national, state and local dignitaries, along with hundreds — if not thousands — of Brazos Valley residents.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for a community celebration for the whole Brazos Valley,” said Carol Wagner, chairwoman of a committee planning the dedication. “So we’re certainly expecting tremendous attendance.”

Wagner said details of the dedication will be forthcoming, but she expects it will take place in the late afternoon or evening. The program will focus on honoring veterans, she said, and the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra will play a key role. The dedication will follow a gala dinner honoring veterans’ families the night before at the Hilton College Station Hotel.

When finished on or about Oct. 30, the 12-acre memorial site will include a plaza named for Louis L. Adam, whose son, Bryan banker and businessman Don Adam, is the project’s lead donor. About 750 other contributors will be thanked on a donor wall and a long, granite bench surrounding the site.

The names of more than 2,100 veterans will be engraved into the Wall of Honor. The memorial’s centerpiece is a bronze sculpture, depicting a soldier carrying a fallen comrade up a slope.

New York artist Robert Eccleston was selected in a juried competition to build the $152,000 sculpture. It is scheduled to be installed in September.

“The sculpture and the design of the memorial area symbolizes the quiet and dignified strength of America,” said P. David Romei, executive director of the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley and chairman of the memorial design committee.

People can still submit names to be carved into the honor wall. But because of time constraints, only names submitted by last week will be engraved in time for the dedication.

The suggested donation is $100 for the first name and $75 for additional names. Peace-time and combat veterans from the four military branches, the Coast Guard and the Merchant Marine are eligible.

Names will be perpetually added to the wall at periodic intervals. For more information, call the Arts Council at 696-2787.

The memorial, surrounded by trees and wildflowers, will also honor the seven Medal of Honor recipients who attended Texas A&M University, all Texas A&M presidents who were veterans and all U.S. presidents who served.

The project started in 1999 when College Station parks and recreation director Steve Beachy, himself a veteran, proposed naming the city’s planned park and athletic complex in honor of U.S. servicemen and women. From there, plans for a sculpture-centered memorial took shape.

“The vision that has now become a reality is the result of so many people who have given so much and have asked for so little in return,” Romei said. “And it is from their spirit that the true legacy will be determined.”

At first, memorial organizers predicted about 500 veterans’ names would be included. The original budget was $500,000.

As of Friday, more than $650,000 had been given or pledged to the memorial’s construction, and at least 2,134 names had been submitted.

“It’s really a humbling experience to know that people are still concerned about our nation, about how we got to where we are, and the people who have participated in that,” said Lynn Stuart, a retired Army brigadier general leading the fund-raising effort.

As planning for the dedication continues, residents can offer their suggestions for the ceremony through the Arts Council.

“It’s going to be a memorable occasion,” Stuart said. “I hope it’s something everybody in Brazos County and the Brazos Valley will be proud of and remember for a long time.”

• John LeBas’ e-mail address is jlebas@theeagle.com.

To make donations to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial
or to request more information, please call

979.696.6247