Homescape Technologies turned two years old Saturday. In honor of the occasion, there is a new look! There may be a new publication schedule in the future, too, with fewer posts per week. For now, I have enough topics stacked-up to continue Monday-Friday...and I don't know if that's a positive or negative! 😉 Regardless of frequency, the objective of this blog remains the same. I intend to inform and inspire. I enjoy learning new things and gaining ideas from others, so maybe I can occasionally do the same for someone else. Now, let's get to the real reason for today's post.
Missouri Military Memorial
There is a new military memorial in southern St. Louis county. Housed in Jefferson Barracks County Park (adjacent to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery), it pays tribute to MO military personnel who gave their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its dedication was actually on Memorial Day weekend (under very wet conditions, I might add). As we celebrate our nation's 241st birthday, though, it seems a good time to acknowledge some of the Americans who served and sacrificed for our freedom.
This memorial tells the stories of both conflicts through pictures displayed on an enormous black granite wall. (Interesting fact: The wall was made and installed by a company in Ohio and it was the largest project they had ever done. While getting everything in place, the installers were so emotionally moved that many were in tears.)
There are three stars that, at their highest points, are seven feet tall. These stars show the pictures of our MO fallen.
Four black granite benches, like this one, honor particular groups of individuals. As you can see, this one is a tribute to Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The other three are dedicated to those who came home and later died from PTSD, or who passed away on US bases.
How did this memorial come to fruition? The effort was begun by a mother whose daughter was killed in Tikrit, Iraq in 2006 and it's her vision. She formed a team and after a seven-year effort, with many fund raising events, the group came up with $600,000 so that it could all happen. One of the group members happens to be my husband. He donated all of his time to design this memorial and has felt very privileged to have worked with the team for the past five years. As a gesture of gratitude to the St. Louis County Parks Department, a park pavilion was donated to the system and is named "Gold Star Pavilion".
(Interesting fact: While Randy designed the elements---shape of the wall, stars, etc.-- and the layout of this memorial, it was the Gold-Star parents who provided the graphics which went on the wall.)
As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, let's remember all of the people who have made our freedom possible. If you're ever in the area, you may want to pay a visit to this new memorial.