 |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
Memorial dedication set Monday By the Daily Gate City The dedication of the Keokuk Veterans Memorial is from 10 to 11:15
a.m. Monday near the entrance to Oakland Cemetery, 18th and Carroll
streets. The memorial site also is near the entrance to the historical
portion of the Keokuk National Cemetery. If the high school parking lot becomes full, Trinity United Methodist Church, 2330 Plank Road, has been designated as the runover parking area. Shuttle service will be provided from that lot as well. Golf carts at the bus debarking point will carry people to the memorial site. After the ceremony is over, the shuttle process will be reversed. Background Caufield and her late husband, Roy, had served in the U.S. Navy. Several weeks after Gudgel's election, Caufield called back and reminded him of his promise to try to revive the project. A couple of weeks later, then Police Chief George Morgan agreed to help the mayor build a veterans memorial upon Morgan's retirement. Caufield was a charter member of the Keokuk Veterans Committee. Schedule 9:30 a.m. - McNamara's Band. 10 a.m. - Entrance of Colors, U.S. Coast Guard. Opening prayer - The Rev. Dale Thomas. Officer of the Day greeting - Pat Hogan. Musical selection - MacNamara's Band. Guest speakers - Amy Laue of Leyda, Burris and Metz Monuments; David Gudgel, mayor of Keokuk; and George Morgan, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee. Reading of the Honor Roll - George Morgan. Twenty-one gun salute to the departed by the American Legion, Sons of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars - organized by Basil Reed and Jerry Hardy. Taps. Star Spangled Banner. Ribbon cutting by Gold Star Mothers - Betty McDowell and Sylvia Rudd. Closing Ceremony Benediction - The Revs. Paul Connolly and Rob Lathrop. Closing remarks - Officer of the Day, Pat Hogan. Retiring of the colors. Musical selection - McNamara's Band. A table will be set up at the memorial site to receive donations or to accept names to be engraved on the memorial. The charge for getting a name engraved on the memorial is $150
Memorial gets finishing touches By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer The Keokuk Veterans Memorial will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Monday, rain or shine, at the entrance to Oakland Cemetery and near the entrance to the historic part of the Keokuk National Cemetery. Organizers expect from 1,500 to 3,000 people to attend the ceremony. A labor of love and sacrifice, the memorial is a wish-fulfilled for a naval veteran, now deceased, a kept campaign promise by a mayor, and a matter of faith and pride for a community of volunteers who saw the project through to the end. Early on, the Veterans Memorial Committee sent word to the community that money and help of all varieties would be necessary to build a tribute to area veterans of the armed forces. The response was impressive, with approximately $180,000 raised to date and countless volunteer hours already put in. "You can say this memorial was raised by mom and pop," said George Morgan, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee. "Our financial institutions stepped up to the plate and made healthy contributions, but the families did the biggest part." The veterans memorial is a granite and marble structure standing gracefully at the point of a grassy triangular park area. Five arches are flanked by two wings, and an obelisk topped with an eagle stands in front of the center arch. Heat, although making labor even more strenuous, has not stopped the steady progress of the memorial. Sidewalks are in, spotlights were installed Monday and sod will be placed Wednesday morning. The committee hopes to get the two large columns kept from the old Keokuk Middle School placed at the memorial site this week. The actual beginning of the Keokuk Veterans Memorial project was on a warm summer day in August 2001. David Gudgel, a candidate for mayor, was walking throughout town prior to the election, knocking on doors. At 18th Street and Orleans Avenue, Mary Caufield came to the door. "She told me she had been waiting for me," Gudgel said. "She heard I was out knocking on doors in the community. I didn't know her, I knew of her. She told me, after I'd given my spiel, she was going to vote for me, but I would have to make her a promise - to resurrect the memorial project. I said, 'If I'm elected, I promise I will attempt to do that, mainly because I believe that it is time.'" Caufield and her late husband, Roy, had served in the U.S. Navy. She was adamant that Keokuk join the communities in the area and have a fitting tribute to veterans, Gudgel said. Several weeks after Gudgel was elected, Caufield called back and reminded him of his promise. "A couple of weeks after that, George Morgan came to the office and said he was retiring as police chief," Gudgel said. " I told him, tongue in cheek, I would accept his resignation on one condition. 'I will let you retire if you help me build a fitting veterans memorial.' He was standing, and he said, 'You got it.'" Caufield was a charter member of the Keokuk Veterans Committee and a part of the planning and saw the drawing of the memorial. She died several months ago, before she could see her vision become reality. Her daughter, Kathleen McPherson, will be in Keokuk this summer to donate trees to Rand Park in Mary Caufield's name, meet with the mayor and visit the memorial. Driven by patriotism, appreciation for the freedoms the United States enjoys and his promise to Caufield, Gudgel said another big motivation for the memorial is "the look in the faces of all who have served that are still living. I feel we have a huge debt to them," he said. Transportation to the dedication will be handled with school buses, the tourism bus and golf carts, Morgan said. A handicap area will be set up on site. People attending the ceremony are asked to park at the Keokuk High School parking lot starting at 8:30 a.m. Runover parking will be at the Trinity Methodist Church parking lot. The public will be bused to the memorial and unloaded near the site. Golf carts, courtesy of the Keokuk Elks Lodge and Keokuk Area Hospital, will be available to take them to the memorial grounds. Keokuk Police Chief R.L. Dobson said ample security will be in place at both parking areas and traffic control will be in place along the bus route. After the ceremony concludes, buses will take people back to their vehicles. "We're praying for good weather," Dobson said. "No rain and not too hot." Water will be available at the ceremony. The ceremony is expected to take one hour and 15 minutes. Veterans attending the ceremony are asked to wear their hats, ribbons or even uniforms, Morgan said. Boy Scouts will hand out souvenir programs and provide assistance. A table will be set up to receive donations or names for the memorial. Now that the memorial is in place, names will cost $150 to place. Price Change
Now that our monument company is on site and
erecting the memorial, it's going to be more difficult for them to
engrave names. They won't have the luxury of having those giant slabs of
black granite flat and in their shop when they engrave the names. So
they have to charge us more because it's going to cost them more. So for
a veteran to get his or her name on the memorial as of now (June 13,
2005) it will now cost $150.00. We will always be taking names to put on
the memorial so you can always have your name engraved on the memorial.
Every veteran will be proud to see their name on this beautiful Veterans
Memorial.
Keokuk Veterans Memorial
Veterans Memorial takes shape
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer As the first 8,000-pound granite end wing stone was carefully put in place at the site of the Keokuk Veterans Memorial, 2 1/2 years of planning began taking visible, tangible shape. By 3 p.m. Thursday, the stone was anchored onto the concrete foundation by a one-inch stainless steel rod. By next Thursday, weather permitting, 138,000 pounds of granite and additional marble will stand at the entrance to Oakland Cemetery and the historic part of the Keokuk National Cemetery. "It's pretty gratifying," said George Morgan, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee. "It's pretty neat. In reality, it's 2 1/2 years of hard work by several people. I've had the honor of seeing some of it before anyone - the engraving. It's beautiful. It's stunning." The grassy, triangular memorial site at 18th and Carroll streets is scattered with crates, bundles, boxes, heavy equipment and slabs and chunks of polished rock. Saturday, the installation crew led by Ron Sourwine, co-owner of Leyda, Burrus & Metz Monuments, Burlington, will work from those materials and start assembling the main part of the monument. If rain holds off, the ground will be firmer Saturday than it was Thursday, when the installation crew had to find heavy boards to keep the cranes from sinking into the soft ground. Sourwine listed six nine-foot pillars, five grand arches and 16 black plates of granite to be installed using 80 stainless steel pins bonded into the granite with epoxy. "There are almost 1,400 names of veterans and contributors on the memorial," Sourwine added, gesturing to a marble slab one of his men was cleaning. "There will be eight five-by four-foot plates, four 24- by-five-foot plates and four 16- by-five-foot plates." The four-inch-thick black marble slabs containing veterans' names will slide into grooves cut into the granite wings. Sourwine said the new, groove method was engineered after some of the first black marble slabs comprising the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., cracked because of temperature-related expansion and contraction that had not been anticipated. As the slabs are gently uncrated using a crane and sturdy mesh straps manipulated by workers, Sourwine is fully in the work of the moment, but can see the end result in his mind's eye. "I built the war memorials in Fort Madison, Dallas City and Monmouth (both in Illinois) and I have seen many civic and war memorials. This will be the nicest, most impressive, most beautiful," he said. "There will be people standing and looking at names for hours. I guarantee it." Names of veterans that were turned in before the deadline for engraving are in alphabetical order. A star engraved next to a name denotes "killed in action." Ample room on the wings has been provided for 800 to 1,000 names to be engraved in the future. "I added another 400-plus names in Fort Madison since their memorial was installed two or three years ago," Sourwine said. "We'll put new names on once a year." Morgan said the Veterans Memorial Committee will be meeting soon to decide the cost to put on additional names. Engraving costs are higher now, so the new price will be higher than the initial cost. After the memorial has been installed, the committee's next step is to put in sidewalks and to sod and landscape the area - all to be accomplished before the dedication ceremony on the Fourth of July. The pillars kept from the demolition of the old middle school on Main Street will probably not be installed by July 4, Morgan said. Although the cost of erecting the pillars is "not to bad," the expense of putting in strong enough footings and foundations will require more funds. He estimates the weight of each column at 7,000-pounds, not including the capstone and base. "The school pillars will form an entry arch to the veterans memorial," Morgan said. Donations for the Keokuk Veterans Memorial may be mailed to P.O. Box 1317, Keokuk IA 52632. Committee looks for names of war dead
Gold Star Mothers invited to dedication
For the Daily Gate City The Keokuk Veterans Memorial Committee is looking for the names of Tri-State Area people who died in the Korean War, Vietnam War and Gulf War, according to George Morgan, committee chairman. Morgan said there is no accurate listing of the area people who fought and died in those wars. "Also, we would like to have Gold Star Mothers attend the dedication of the memorial and cut the ribbon," Morgan said.
The dedication is at 10 a.m. Monday, July 4.
Morgan said the engraving of more than 1,100 names is now in the process. The first stones will begin appearing on the memorial site during the first week of June, he said. Call Harold Riley at 524-7831 or Kent Peters at 524-2774 with the names of those who died in the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf conflicts or for more information.
Veterans memorial site
marked off Wednesday
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
The Keokuk Veterans Memorial will stand at the entrance to Oakland Cemetery and the historic portion of the Keokuk National Cemetery as early as spring, according to George Morgan, president of the Veterans Memorial Committee.
"We're closing in on this now," Morgan said
Wednesday. "With cash and pledges we have $127,000 to $128,000 raised.
We're very close to getting to our goal."
The committee would like to raise a minimum
of $150,000 for the black and gray granite memorial, Morgan said.
Designed to closely resemble the old
verandah arches that once stood between Second and Third streets on
Johnson Street, the memorial will honor all service men and women of the
Tri-State Area. Names of veterans dating from the Civil War to those
still on active duty have been submitted.
Morgan, Kent Peters, Jerry Roberts,
commander of Keokuk VFW Post 3508, Steve Andrews of Andrews Plumbing and
representatives of Leyda, Burrus and Metz Monuments of Fort Madison and
Burlington marked off the site Wednesday to prepare for footings to be
poured when the weather allows.
People who are interested in donating and placing a name on the memorial must move soon, Morgan said. The committee already is in the process of alphabetizing names.
"If they want their family in alphabetical
order, they need to get it in," he said. "Some are giving it as a
Christmas present, but the stone is ordered and we're compiling names on
a list. We're double checking for those who were killed in action. They
will have a special notation. But if people wait too long, their names
will be at the end someplace.
"We're laying it out today in hopes of
getting the foundation and footings, done. It's going to happen."
Andrews will do the excavation needed for
pouring footings.
"He's going to dig it," Morgan said. "We're
hoping for help to form it."
The committee is asking for a $100 donation
per name, with $25 of that amount for the cost of engraving and $75 to
help purchase the memorial.
Call Morgan at 524-1405, Harold Riley at
524-7606 or Roberts at 524-7660 to donate/pledge and list a name.
The memorial project was set in motion in
the fall of 2002. At that time, nearly 50 people gathered in the Keokuk
Public Library to organize the effort.
Veterans Committee members and city officials break ground for the new Keokuk Veterans Memorial at the 18th street entrance to Oakland Cemetery. From left (front) are Jerry Palmer, Kent Peters, George Morgan, Mayor David Gudgel, City Council member Marian Ealey, Bobby McDowell, Harold Riley, Jerry Roberts; (back) Basil Reed, Pat Hogan and Harold Price. Ground broken for veterans memorial Work could begin on structure this fall, dedication could come around next Memorial Day By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor With about 50 people looking on, ground was broken Saturday for the Keokuk Veterans Memorial at the 18th Street entrance of Oakland Cemetery. The turnout for the groundbreaking ceremony exemplified the support for the project, which could cost about $150,000 when completed next year, said retired police chief George Morgan, who has headed the Veterans Memorial Committee. "Today's ceremony declares to the citizens of Keokuk, declares to the citizens of the United States and declares to the citizens of the world that we hold sacred the sacrifices given by our brave men and women so that not only we, the citizens who live in the home of the free and the brave, but all citizens of the world also can have the opportunity to experience a sacred word simply called freedom," commented Mayor David Gudgel. "For far too long, Keokuk, whose long and honored military past deserved a memorial to our honored veterans, now will, at long last, have such a fitting tribute," Gudgel added. "It is only fitting, it is only just and it is time that we the living pay our debt of gratitude, our debt of reverence and our debt of respect to all who have served our nation," the mayor said. He also asked God to bless and acknowledge "our desire to erect this symbol of our undying allegiance and honor to all those who have stepped forward in the name of the United States military." So far, about $113,000 has been raised for the project, which has been in the works for approximately 1 1/2 years. Enough money has been raised now to order the stone and work on the foundation, Morgan said. "We might be able to do some work on the foundation later this fall," he added. "It will take until November or December to get the stone components. Most of the erection will take place next spring. "We'd like to have some funds left over for perpetual maintenance," he added. According to Morgan, the Veterans Memorial Committee has collected more than 500 names of service members to inscribe on the memorial. As many as 1,500 names of service men and women could be put on the edifice. A $100 minimum donation is requested to have a veteran's name put on the memorial. In case of financial hardship, the committee will try to find money to help. The main portion of the memorial will be 13 feet high and 31 feet wide. The Verandah Arches that once stood between Second and Third streets on Johnson Street will be replicated. In addition, the 7,000-pound columns from the old Keokuk Middle School will be incorporated into memorial. Morgan and other committee said they never doubted that enough money could be raised to build the memorial to service members from the Civil War to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. "From the start, we decided it might take awhile, but there was never any doubt we'd raise it," Morgan commented. Another committee member, Terry Altheide, called the memorial long overdue. "Like Gudgel said," Altheide added, "Keokuk has a long military history." Committee member Kent Peters concurred. "It's been long past due since a lot of vets haven't been appreciated," said Peters, referring mainly to the reception Vietnam War veterans got. "I absolutely knew we'd do it (raise enough money to build the memorial)." Although a veterans memorial has been discussed for several years in Keokuk, the concept got new life three years when Gudgel had a conversation with Mrs. Roy Coffield during the mayoral campaign. "A veteran herself, she asked me to promise that I would see to it that, at the least, an attempt would be made to erect this long overdue memorial," Gudgel said. "It is bittersweet, for she is no longer with us today. But today's ceremony is one step closer to making this promise a reality. "Without the assistance of a fantastic group of truly patriotic people who stand here today, this groundbreaking would not be possible," he added. "They are the ones who deserve the credit. They are the ones who should be thanked." Donations for the Keokuk Veterans Memorial can be made to either the American Legion or VFW in Keokuk or mailed to Keokuk Veterans Memorial, P.O. Box 1317, Keokuk, IA 52632. Also if you would like a form sent to you just go www.keokuk.com, scroll down and click on, "Veterans Memorial". The Keokuk.com webpage who's webmaster is Ed Vinson has helped us out tremendously. He has let us put our webpage on Keokuk's main webpage. 
The
reclamation crew seated on a column
Columns
and Arches were salvaged on Saturday and Sunday, July 10th and
11th for the Military Memorial to be constructed adjacent to the National
Cemetery
and Oakland Cemetery. Military Veterans from American Legion
Post # 41,
VFW Post #3508, C.R. McDowell of Keokuk and Muscatine, Iowa,
Jerry's
Welding of Keokuk and Leyda, Burus and Metz of Burlington plus other
community
volunteers participated in the salvage operation that was deemed 100%
successful.
Front
row::
Left to right: Jerry Morgan, Darren Palmer, Jerry Roberts, George Morgan, Duane Sourwine, Ron Sourwine, Bob McDowell, Back row: Left to right: Jerry Palmer, Kevin French, Pat Hogan Not pictured: Gary Barnes, John Vradenburg
As of now, there is no deadline for getting your money
in to have a name engraved on the memorial. We would like to get every
veteran from here on the memorial. I know it's going to be hard, but
were going to try and you can help. If you know of any veteran who has a
Honorable Discharge please let them know or their family know. If they
have passed on and they have no family members left please let us know.
They served this country and deserve to be on the memorial. Also, if
your a business or not a veteran, but would like to donate and have your
company or name engraved on the obelisk just donate $125.00. And if you
would like to donate more it would be greatly appreciated.
Vets memorial takes shape By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer Honoring men and women who fight for America now and have fought in past wars is at the forefront of Tri-State Area residents' attention with the war in Iraq in its second week. But even before Operation Iraqi Freedom began, plans were in place to build a veterans memorial for Keokuk at 18th and Carroll streets. The memorial will guard the entrances to the Keokuk National Cemetery historical burial grounds and flag circle as well as Oakland Cemetery. "I really do think people right now have appreciation for those who serve now," said George Morgan. Morgan is a veteran of the U.S. Army, member of the American Legion and president of the Keokuk Veterans Memorial Committee. "No matter what their political positions, they certainly support those who serve." "Those who serve fight for what we have," said Jerry Roberts, veteran of the Vietnam War and Commander of VFW Post 3508 in Keokuk. "No matter what the sacrifice." "That's why we have them," Morgan said, agreeing that freedoms Americans now enjoy are the result of the people who fought to keep them in place. The gray and black marble memorial will stand at the wide part of a triangle-shaped park, facing east. Concrete walkways will border the park and lead to various parts of the memorial. Rod Sourwine, of Leyda, Burrus and Metz Monuments of Burlington, displayed plans of the memorial and said the main structure would cost $109,000. An eagle centerpiece with a star placed in the middle of the memorial park is projected at $9,700, and a black granite obelisk behind the memorial will cost $2,700. Eighty-five cubic yards of concrete will cost about $6,000. The main memorial structure, flanked by gray wings on both sides, has four large black panels and a center open archway. The front of each panel will be engraved with military scenes. The names of 1,600 veterans will be engraved on the back of each panel. Additional veterans' names will be engraved on the memorial's wings as needed. The structure is 70 feet long, 13 feet tall and two feet thick. The name of each service branch will be engraved on each point of the centerpiece star, and a tablet on the eagle centerpiece will announce the memorial's purpose, "to honor those who have served." The obelisk behind the memorial will bear the name of contributors. The name of any veteran who was honorably discharged may be placed on the memorial for a $100 contribution. Veterans need not be Keokuk residents, the group decided; all who served fought for America. Names will be listed last name, first name, middle initial and branch of service (USN, USMC, etc.) Twenty-five spaces are allotted for each name. The obelisk will hold 600 names of contributors, at a minimum of $125 per entry. It's not only veterans who are spearheading the memorial project. The committee also is comprised of area residents, and it was Keokuk Mayor Dave Gudgel who first brought the need of a veterans' memorial to his attention, Morgan said. Since then, American Legion Post #41, Sons of the American Legion, VFW Post #3508, AMVETS and the VFW Auxiliary have met with community members to solidify plans. Wednesday the six-month timeline was set for receiving memorial names and fund-raising, with Sept. 11 the deadline. The fund-raising drive for the memorial will begin with a bulk mailing to potential contributors, but the general public is encouraged to participate now with donations of money and labor, Morgan said. Contributions can be dropped off at the American Legion Hall, 727 Main St., Keokuk; VFW Post #3508, 601 Johnson St., Keokuk; or mailed to Keokuk Veteran's Memorial, P.O. Box 1317, Keokuk IA 52632. For more information call Morgan at 524-1405; Pat Hogan at 524-2062, evenings; or Harold Riley (after 3 p.m.) at 524-7831, or complete the following form. Also, if you would like a form to be mailed to you just fill this out. All information will be kept private.
Our P.O. Box for the Veterans Memorial is now
closed. Please send all forms or fill out the form on the web site to
have one sent to you. But if you have a form you would just like to send
in please send it to the American Legion Hall, 727 Main St., Keokuk,
Iowa 52632. The forms are still being received and always will be.
|
