A new monument to all five branches of military service settled in place Friday afternoon at the All Veterans Memorial Park.
The 4 foot by 8 foot monument, made of Cottonwood limestone from the Flint Hills, replaces a concrete sign installed several years ago.
“It’s going to be quite an improvement, of course,” said Ron Whitney, who has helped coordinate removal of the old sign, pouring of a new base pad and installation of the new carved stone sign.
“We wanted to really put it to good use. We didn’t want to just put it out, like ‘Welcome.’”
The new sign acknowledges Emporia as “Founding City of Veterans Day,” with insignias of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard across the bottom.
The city, which maintains the park’s pristine, manicured grounds, worked with the veterans committee to prepare for the installation, Whitney said.
Kent and Natalie Schnakenberg donated the monument in honor of his father, Bud Schnakenberg, an Army veteran of the Korean War, and numerous others.
“It’s also in honor of all of the veterans of Lyon County,” Schnakenberg said. “Another thing that I really think’s important ... is to recognize the spouses and the families of veterans, because I think they make tremendous sacrifices along with the people who served.”
He talked about his parents, who had gotten married the year Bud Schnakenberg went into the Army.
“By Christmas, he was in Korea and she spent the first Christmas they were married without him,” he said.
Many, many others have lived through similar experiences, he added, and he and his wife would like for people who see the monument to remember the families, too.
“In my view, when a veteran goes to the park or drives by that park and sees that rock, it ... lets them know that people like me do remember and always will remember. And that’s what that park’s for,” Schnakenberg said. “It represents a lot of things to a lot of people.”
gardenman (anonymous) says...
Praise God for the veterans. Their sacrifices to our country and
its people have made posible the freedoms that we all so take
for granted. Lest we forget.
October 31, 2009 at 10:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Amen!
November 2, 2009 at 8:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )