VIDEO: A time for remembrance
Published 11:17 am Monday, September 13, 2010
Eight-year-old Maddie Lenz sits next to a row of pavers during the Mower County Veteran's Memorial dedication Saturday morning. Lenz's uncle Charles Carlson, a veteran of the Korean War, had his name on a paver next to where Lenz was sitting.
As veterans and supporters watched Saturday, Norm Hecimovich teared up as he led the dedication of the Mower County Veterans’ Memorial.
“It brings tears to my eyes when I look at this project,” he said. “Because it’s so important.”
Amongst a little less than 600 granite pavers, the Mower County Veterans Memorial Committee dedicated a new bronze statue to the existing memorial in a ceremony on Sept. 11, honoring veterans past and present, living and fallen.
“It’s about time,” said Dalvin Augustin, an Army veteran who served in World War II. Augustin said it was time for Austin to have its own memorial, as people had to go to Rochester to visit the memorial there before.
VIDEO: Click on this image to watch a video of this weekend's Vet's Memorial event. --Eric Johnson
The statue, designed by Anderson Memorial, was recently finished as a result of the sale of black granite pavers lining the sidewalks leading to the memorial. Jeff Anderson, owner of Anderson Memorial, said during the dedication that 580 pavers had been sold thus far. The memorial is designed to hold about 400 more pavers.
Sue Cline said her family and relatives helped buy a paver for her father-in-law, Charles W. Cline, who also served in WWII.
“The entire family went in to do it as an honor for him,” she said.
Charles Cline, for his part, thought the ceremony befitting as an honor to veterans.
“It’s almost…too much,” he said. “I liked it just fine.”
Jeff Godfredson, a Marine gunnery sergeant who served for 20 years, said before the ceremony he didn’t know what to expect.
“It looks pretty good to me,” he said.
Godfredson served a tour of duty in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, during which time he fought in several major battles including the Battle of Fallujah. He also received a Purple Heart for injuries received from a mortar round and IED explosives.
The memorial project began in 1990, according to Hecimovich, with the first part of the memorial being completed in 1992. The project was scheduled to continue bu
t ended up stalling in 2002. It wasn’t until last year when Hecimovich was asked to helm the memorial committee that work started up again.
Now, after 18 months of work, the second leg of the project is done.
“This part is the big hurdle that we’ve been trying to get past,” Anderson said.
According to Hecimovich, future additions to the memorial will include signage with the name of the memorial, along with flags and flag poles representing each branch of service.
