Veterans seeking support for new memorial in Ferdinand

If all goes as planned, visitors to the Town of Ferdinand will be met by a new veterans memorial in time for Memorial Day of next year.

It’s an important project for Leon Weyer, the owner of a parcel of property at the northern entrance to the city along State Road 162 where the new monument would be located. He inherited the sliver of land from his father, Leonard, about 20 years ago.

Leon’s dad originally purchased the small property — only about .05 acres — to put up a sign to advertise the Weyer A&W which was located across the highway. The sign for the A&W never came to be and when the business went away, the little plot was left barren.

Recently, Weyer cleaned up the property and was wondering what to do with it when he came upon the idea of a veterans memorial. Weyer had volunteered for the Marine Corps in 1966 at the age of 17. He ended up in Vietnam where he was injured and returned home after a long rehabilitation at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital.

Now, he saw an opportunity to honor all the local veterans with the piece of land.

“This isn’t about me,” he explained. “This is to show appreciation for the veterans all over the county.”

He ran the idea past members of the Ferdinand American Legion Post 124 as well as the Ferdinand VFW Post 11365. Both organizations felt his idea was a worthy cause and came on board to help bring it to fruition.

While it was being designed, the Ferdinand Chamber of Commerce came aboard and broached the idea of adding a welcome sign to the memorial since it would be located along the north entrance to the town.

Since then, the Town of Ferdinand stepped up to help close a ditch and Dubois REC donated their services to move a utility pole out of the way of the future site of the memorial. Additionally, Seufert Construction has donated their services to design the memorial with input from Weyer and the Ferdinand Legion committee in charge of the project.

Weyer donated the property to the Ferdinand Legion. They will work out details on maintaining the property with the cooperation of the town and other veteran organizations.

Now, with the blessing from the town and plans in hand, the rubber hits the road as Weyer and the three organizations involved — Ferdinand Legion, VFW and Chamber — are looking for donations to assist in paying for the project.

“We are basically going out and trying to raise funds to complete the project,” Weyer said with the hope that this story will help get the word out and garner more support.

Those who want to contribute can send check directly to the Ferdinand American Legion Post 124, 425 Main Street, Ferdinand, Ind. 47532, earmarked for the Veteran’s Memorial. For more information, contact Leon Weyer at 812-367-1852 or the Legion at 812-367-1241 or email FerdinandLegion124@gmail.com.

“It’s a personal thing for me,” Weyer explained. “It is something that I felt I could do for my fellow servicemen.”