Membership Notes

Richmond, Indiana, Chapter 777:
A Park For All Veterans

BY BILL ENGLE

For twenty-two years members of Richmond, Indiana, Chapter 777, friends, and family have worked to remember fallen comrades, pay tribute to fellow veterans, and give the people of Richmond a place to honor those who served their country.

The result of their labor is Veterans Memorial Park, one of the finest military parks in the Midwest. It has grown from a monument to the forty local servicemen who died in Vietnam to include monuments for those who served in every war, including the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We wanted a memorial to those who died in Vietnam. But after we saw what we had done and what it meant to the community, we decided we wanted a veterans park,” said Chapter member Ron Hill, a longtime volunteer and organizer of the park. “It’s not a place to glorify war, but to honor those who served.”

Veterans Park began in the summer of 1990 when the Moving Wall first came to Richmond. It is located in a meadow near downtown Richmond, a city of 38,000 near the Ohio border along Interstate 70. It is a sprawling expanse of stone, gravel, and grass. The Traveling Wall has returned four times to Richmond’s Veterans Park: in 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011.

Within two years after dedicating the Vietnam monument, the Chapter began planning and fundraising to add memorials to those who had fought and died in America’s other conflicts. By 2000, monuments were erected to honor those who served in World War I, World War II, and Korea. Later that year a cannon was placed in honor of those who fought in the Civil War. Then monuments were added honoring service members from the Persian Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2011 the community staged a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans celebration at the park and dedicated the final two monuments—one to honor Purple Heart recipients and another (the first in the state) to honor women veterans.

“It’s a beautiful place,” said Chapter 777 member Joe Goebel, who, with his wife Barbara, has worked for years on the project. “We’ve worked hard not to leave anyone out. This is a park we’re very proud of.”

Two World War II tanks were moved from the Wayne County Courthouse lawn and now stand near the entrance to the park. The areas in front of the individual monuments are paved with commemorative bricks that honor those who served and those who worked on the project. The monuments are connected by walkways inscribed with the names of those who served and those who died in defense of their
nation.

An energized and devoted Chapter 777, along with its families, friends, and area residents, spent many hours smoothing concrete, pulling weeds, placing bricks, and running electricity and water to the site. Organizers spent more than $100,000 on the project and invested close to one thousand volunteer hours making the park a reality. They raised money through donations and by staging flea markets, motorcycle rides, casino nights, dinners, dances, bake sales, and by selling flags and t-shirts.

“It’s been worth every second, and I wouldn’t trade what we’ve done for anything,” said Vicki Meek, whose brother, David A. Downing, was killed in Vietnam in 1967. “This is a place of serenity.”

Meek’s sentiments were echoed by VVA’s Gary Franklin, the longtime head of the Veterans Park Committee and the recipient of a Purple Heart and the Silver Star. “It’s been a long, long time coming,” he said. “A lot of people have worked very hard on this project, and now we’re done. We’ve reached our goal of creating a park for all veterans and for the community.”

Bill Engle is a member of Chapter 777. For more information on Richmond’s Veterans Park, contact Barbara Goebel at siranvil1@gmail.com For more photos of the park and its monuments, go to facebook.vvaveteran.org