A Stone and Eight Flags

Such emotion for a stone and eight flags but the tears flowed on that cold December day as a community unveiled a symbol dedicated to the service of its men and women.

A symbol is naught but for the meaning behind it and in this crowd on that cold day those pieces of stone, steel, and cloth had many meanings.

But who are we to try to place that meaning in these symbols for the soldiers that stood there and cried or smiled? Was it liberty, freedom, duty, love, brotherhood, or friendship; all our American ideals? I don’t know. I only know what it means to me.

And for this I commend the men and women that made this monument a reality; the mayor and the many people that came together to give us this grand monument to our service. A grand visage of eight flying flags and granite overlooking a fine water. A reflective pond for the most reflective of us, those of us that have dealt in life and death and have come back forever changed; those of us that volunteered and found ourselves through the toils of duty; those of us that found the meaning of the word discipline in a crisp salute and attentive stance; and those of us that have died. In Memoriam.

I think that many an eye was looking inside at the unveiling of this monument. They did not see the flags nor the stone, they saw in their memories those things that make this monument more than just a man’s legacy and they cried.

The Veterans’ Monument stands overlooking the pond near the Huntingburg Event Center. Bricks are being sold to help fund the monument’s continued upkeep. Individuals interested in a brick for a loved one can contact the City of Huntingburg at 683-2211 or go to http://www.huntingburg-in.gov/ for more information.

[hr]

The following pictures are a chronicle of the Monument being put together. Feel free to comment at the bottom of the page.