Those who've worked to see the final addition to the veterans war memorial at the Peoria Courthouse Plaza are celebrating the pending construction this weekend.
The proposed memorial called “Final Salute” is dedicated to soldiers from Peoria County who’ve served in the US military from World War II to present day. The total cost is estimated to top $400,000. Most of the funds are from private and corporate donors. Peoria County is committing $125,000 to the project.
The County board established a Veteran’s Memorial Committee in 2012. County board member Allen Mayer says the reason for the delay is it’s difficult for a large government body to come up with the funds for a project of this scale, particularly given the frail state budget.
“I think it’s more a matter of there are a lot of needs,and it’s not easy to raise money for a lot of worthy project," Mayer said.
Mayer says the County also recently completed the World War I and II memorials. The new monument will be an addition to those.
Mayer adds, $400,000 is a relatively small price tag...
“A public memorial like this is one of the least of the things we can do that can truly honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Mayer said.
The proposed memorial will have etched in granite the 233 names of soldiers from Peoria County who’ve died in the line of duty since World War II.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the addition to the Courthouse veterans memorial is Saturday at 10:00am. Speakers include Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Hal Fritz, who served in the the Vietnam War. Fritz is one of 77 living Americans with the distinguished honor.
Construction on the Final Salute memorial is set to begin next spring.