Completion pushed back for area veterans memorial

• Artist's rendering

This is an artist’s rendering of what the Springfield Veterans Memorial will look like. (Image courtesy of Lukens Memorials)

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SPRINGFIELD — A veterans memorial at Springfield is still a work in progress and organizers have decided to move back the original ambitious completion date of July 4 to about three years from now.

Connie Allen, chairperson of the Springfield Veterans Memorial Committee, said Thursday soil samples will be taken to determine where bedrock sits and how much concrete is needed to support the weight of the granite memorial.

“That’s a biggie for us,” she said. “Because it’ll help us determine how much our budget will have to be for construction of the monument.”

The Springfield City Council approved the committee’s request in February 2011 to place the memorial in Terrace Park at the south end of Walnut Street, near Lewis and Clark Lake. Allen said in June last year the committee wants the memorial to be as accessible as possible.

The size of the monument may be larger than originally expected, as the committee has received more than 1,200 names to display. People from the local area to former students and others have submitted the names.

Lukens Memorials in Yankton designed the memorial to feature a tall, silver granite spire that will be lighted on top and have the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and National Guard emblems inset in black granite.

Staggered black granite walls will be attached to the spire with engraved names of veterans, past and present, from Springfield, or who attended the former University of South Dakota at Springfield, or were a member of the Springfield National Guard or have any tie to the town, Allen said.

The walls will also feature pictures of local veterans from different conflicts.

The committee has raised more than $30,000 since fundraising began on Memorial Day 2011, Allen said.

“We’re looking at a budget of about $150,000,” she added. “By this Memorial Day, we’d like to be close to a third of what we need.”

The committee is also researching possible grants to fund the project.

Currently, the committee is raffling a customized patriotic electric golf cart. Mr. Golf Car of Springfield customized the cart, including upholstery, decorations and decals.

The upholstery is white with three red stripes and blue trim. A large picture of the future veterans memorial is on the hood of the cart with American flags on either side and American flag-themed shades on the roof.

To help promote the golf cart raffle, the committee will haul the cart to several events around the area throughout the spring and summer. Allen said it’ll appear in the Czech Days parade and at several local and area golf tournaments. The committee will sell tickets during all those events.

To help raise money, the group will serve lunches at the golf tournaments in Springfield.

To donate toward the project or for more information, contact Allen at 605-369-2840 or Carol Hagen at 605-369-5594.

To suggest names for the memorial, contact Jim Hornstra at 605-369-5555 or springvetmem@yahoo.com.

Or, visit the committee’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/sprin gfieldveteransmemorial.

Tags: our towns, news, updates, military, veterans, memorial, springfield