Bartlett Veterans Memorial work passes milestone

Veterans Day marked a key milestone in the effort to create a memorial to soldiers in Bartlett an effort more than half-a-decade old though much remains to be done.

For years now, the Bartlett Veterans Memorial Foundation has been holding fundraising events with help from individuals, the Bartlett Volunteer Fire Department, local businesses and the village, all in hopes of creating a memorial park to honor people who have served in the military.

On Nov. 11, a bronze sculpture conceptualized by artist Greg Martin and executed by Mark Parameter and White River Foundry in Spencer, Ind., was unveiled at Bartlett and Stearns roads on land for the project procured by the village government.

“The turnout was excellent,” said Martin of American Legion Post 1212 and an Army medic from 1982-85 who served in California and Germany. “The support for veterans here it's a good group of guys.”

The cast sculpture will be permanently mounted on a 4-foot-high pedestal next spring, with a walkway of memorial bricks that currently are for sale on the group's website, bartlettveteransmemorial.com. That will complete Phase 1 of the memorial project, which cost about $120,000.

Plans for future phases include a dome, sitting area and pavilion, and while the design and its execution is a work in progress, development of the entire memorial site could cost more than $2 million, Martin said. The foundation has 16 directors.

Fundraising efforts have included the placement of donation jars around town, a garage sale in June, a wine tasting in September, and a stamp and scrapbooking event earlier this month. But the big event is the annual black-tie ball and silent auction, which will be held again early next year.

For more information on the group and its plans, go the website bartlettveteransmemorial.com.