After 10 long and confusing years, the Veterans Memorial Park is about to become a reality. As has already been publicized, Orangeburg City Council has given the architect, West Summers, the green light to put the construction of the park out for bids.

Summers has done a great job in creating a memorial layout incorporating input from various sources. There are and will continue to be additional suggestions on how to make the project more exacting. However, we need to move on with what we have.

Ten years is a long time to wait and we don’t need to disagree as to what we see as necessary in the park design for 10 or more years. What we need, and have at this time, is a consensus on the park design.

I believe that a memorial should contain the names and units of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defending their country. That being said, I must expound on that idea. This memorial will cover the major conflicts involving the United States beginning with the Revolutionary War and going through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Killed In Action (KIA) personnel are listed at the fountain entrance of Edisto Memorial Gardens for World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War, and that is commendable and usable. If we try to list the KIA for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and the other major conflicts, I feel sure we will miss someone. That would be a great transgression to the honor and memory of our KIA. The negative publicity for leaving out just one name would be detrimental to an otherwise honorable park.

According to the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, “a memorial is an object which serves as a memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event, popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains (and even entire parks).” Names of the KIA can be added at a later date after careful and diligent searching of historical documents.

We need to move on and be proud of having a Veterans Memorial Park in the city of Orangeburg. In the meantime, the Orangeburg County Veterans Council is making available paving bricks to be placed at the memorial. There are two choices for the bricks. Two lines of 20 spaces each for $100, or three lines of 20 spaces each for $125. People can put the name of a loved one, themselves, or an idea on a paving brick. Use these paving bricks to add prestige and honor to the memorial. Call me at 803-531-8937 to get an application for the paving bricks.

− Bill Salley, SMSgt, USAF, Retired, OCVC Commander, Orangeburg

You must be logged in to comment.