Final granite tablets placed at Greene County Veterans Memorial Park
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
A large crowd assembled at Greene County Veterans Memorial Park on Memorial Day.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Donnie Martin speaks at the Memorial Day event in Greene County. Martin was a major in the Army and received a Purple Heart for his service in the Vietnam War.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Connie Hart addresses the crowd at the start of Monday’s event.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Sandy Huffman sang patriotic songs prior to the start of Monday’s ceremony.
Greene County Veterans Memorial Park was packed Monday for a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the park’s tribute to veterans.
Two more granite tablets filled with the names of service members were added to the memorial.
“These two walls hold 300 veteran names, bringing the total number of veterans listed in this memorial park to 900 veterans,” said Connie Hart, a member of the Greene County Salute to Veterans Committee, at the start of the Memorial Day event. “Quite honestly, it’s more than that because quite a few of the bricks have multiple names on them.”
Hart spoke about the history of the park, going back to when the committee formed in 2016 to bring the traveling Vietnam memorial wall to Greene County.
“The response was just so overwhelming that we just knew we had to do something more permanent. Greene County wants to support veterans, they love their veterans and we have to do something more permanent,” Hart said.
The Greene County commissioners offered the property at 900 Rolling Meadows Road, Franklin Township, where the park now sits.
Hart expressed thanks to community members who donated to the project, and local businesses that offered low-cost materials and free labor to bring the memorial to fruition.
“Everybody was helping, and it just was such a beautiful display of how people in Greene County are,” Hart said.
Monday’s ceremony included live music from Sandy Huffman, a 21-gun salute and the laying of wreaths at the memorial.
Hart introduced the event’s main speaker, Donnie Martin. Martin served as a major in the Army. He received a Purple Heart for his service in the Vietnam War. He is also a committee member for Greene County Salute to Veterans.
Martin also spoke about how the residents and public officials in Greene County did what they could to assist with getting the park built.
“From concrete, to landscaping to electrical work, every time a problem arose, someone from this community stepped up to handle it,” Martin said.