VFW will march on with veterans memorial at Post

(Above) A rendering of the future Veterans Memorial to be constructed outside of Clear Lake V.F.W. Post 4868 at 219 Main Ave.

Clear Lake V.F.W. Post 4868 members have unanimously given their approval for a veterans memorial to be located in the courtyard of their Main Avenue Post.

The decision to locate a memorial at the V.F.W. ends a controversy which began in 2014 with a proposal to construct a memorial at the Sea Wall.  Opposition to that idea resulted in consideration of placing it near City Hall, or at the former downtown water tower site.  In April 2015, an eight-member task force which met regularly for almost seven months, told the City Council it was unable to reach a unanimous consensus.  Members were split evenly between placing the memorial at the Sea Wall, or at the intersection of Main Avenue and 8th Street.  Ultimately, in March 2016 the City Council approved a resolution authorizing a loan agreement between the city and V.F.W. Post to fund a concept design for a proposed veterans memorial.   RDG Design, of Des Moines, was retained for the work.  The cost of the conceptual design work was $8,500. Although a design was created, it was never presented to the City formally, and the estimated cost for RDG’s proposed memorial was $300,000 to $400,000.

V.F.W. Post 4868 Commander Mike Nelson said the veterans memorial at the Post will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the RDG design.  Details of a fundraising campaign are being developed, with a goal of completing the project by spring or summer 2018, according to Nelson.

The veterans memorial will consist of black granite slabs.  Two exterior walls of the Post will each hold three slabs of granite engraved with the names of vet-

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erans, both living and deceased.  Nelson said there is room for 720 names, with the ability to expand the memorial if needed.

In addition to the walls, the design includes benches, possibly made of limestone or marble, built around three flag poles outside of the entrance to the building at Main Avenue and 3rd Street.  The center pole will feature service emblems.

A unique feature will be five life size bronze statues mounted to the building representing each branch of the armed forces.

David Moore, owner of Hogan-Bremer-Moore Colonial Chapels, has offered to provide labor and materials for the memorial.

Nelson said the VFW membership is excited about the veterans memorial project.

“This basically went from an idea thrown out in May to almost immediate unanimous support.  Then  I talked to Dave Moore and he made a very generous offer,” he said.

Once final costs are determined a capital campaign will be launched.

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