2009.11.02
Photos: Sherwood's Veterans Day Event to commemorate new memorial
During its third annual Veterans Day Event at 2 p.m. November 14, Sherwood Memorial Park will unveil an extremely patriotic and symbolic memorial they have just installed in their new section just behind their new front office on East Main.
The ceremony will consist of: a presentation of colors, an invocation from the Christian Motorcycle Association, bagpipes by K.P. Watermann, singing from the Salem Treble Chorus, and remarks from Salem mayor Randy Foley.
A bronze Afghanistan/Iraq veteran from present day kneels towards a large piece of mirror-smooth granite with an engraving of three soldiers of the past: one from Vietnam, one from Korea and one from World War II.
"It's almost like those three soldiers from the past have noticed him coming up to honor them and that central figure has kneeled down in turn to reach out his hand," said Bill Wolfe, the sculptor from Indiana who created the bronze figure.
Wolfe specializes in sculpting veterans' memorials. He along with Robb Stilnovich of Premier Columbaria, a cremation and memorial company in Tacoma, Washington, coordinated the reenactors to pose for the engraving as well as the general design of the memorial.
"It's always an honor to work on projects like this - it's one thing that I'm able to utilize my abilities as an artist and another thing to honor our soldiers," Wolfe said.
"We wanted to have something for the community and to honor our veterans," said Susan Mini, President and CEO of Sherwood. "I hope that veterans can use it to just have a place to reflect. Even for the families, even if their vets aren't buried out here."
Other folks working on the project include Hughes and Associates as architects and construction coordinator, paver Bob Shupe, landscaper Tammy Feazell, Kelly Francisco's working on the rock wall, and Cory Granger with Southwest Virginia Crane Service.
For more information or to register veterans for the event, call 389-1677. There will be handicap parking available closer to the memorial, but Mini asks that those who are able to walk park as unobtrusively as possible farther away.
