In Mexico, Missouri, a grassroots effort is underway to create a monument honoring veterans from across mid-Missouri—a project that began a year ago and is now gaining traction. Russell Davis, a Vietnam veteran, told Missourinet that the idea came after visiting memorials in other communities and wanting something similar at home.
“It started out my wife, and I went to Boonville, and they had a monument for veterans, and we went and took at a little trip to New Franklin, and they had one,” said Davis. “And I said, why doesn’t Mexico have a monument? And she said, well, you’re the commander of the VFW, why don’t you go back and ask them.”
Davis told Missourinet what the monument would look like.
It will be a 70-foot concrete circle,” said Davis. There will be seven monuments on it, one for each branch of service, including the Merchant Marines. Because they’ve done a lot in World War II, the price tag on it we’re figuring is right around $500,000to do it.”
Davis said a lot of veterans are buried about 50 miles away in Jacksonville—and that’s why he’s helping lead a grassroots push to build a monument closer to home.
“With this monument out there, they could actually do the gun salute and the taps here instead of everybody having to make that long trip to Jacksonville just for a 15-minute ceremony,” said Davis. “Because that’s a 45-minute drive up to Jacksonville from here.”
So far, organizers have raised roughly $150,000.
Details on how to contribute are available on the Central Missouri Veterans Monument Facebook page.
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