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New veteran memorial planned at Nahma park

NAHMA TOWNSHIP — A new memorial, currently under construction in Nahma Township Park, will pay tribute to American Legion Department of Michigan Service Officer Richard Morrison and hundreds of other veterans from the Nahma Township area. Kenneth Bradshaw, the developer and designer of the Nahma Township Veterans Memorial, said the first phase of this project will be completed for the summer of 2017.

Bradshaw, a veteran of the U.S. Army, said he and his wife Cindy have been involved with improvement projects in Nahma Township for quite some time. Cindy was also the township’s supervisor for 12 years.

“We’ve just been involved in Nahma, doing projects,” he said.

The memorial will be dedicated to Morrison, who passed away in June 2016. Bradshaw said Morrison, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, had long been dedicated to the cause of helping his fellow veterans — he worked as a service officer for more than 25 years.

“He’s been involved his whole life,” he said.

Morrison also had several connections to the Nahma Township area, Bradshaw said.

“He was born there, and his family was from Nahma (Township),” he said.

The memorial’s centerpiece will be a five-foot-tall black granite monument featuring a photo of Morrison saluting the American flag. This photo was taken by Cindy during a Memorial Day celebration in Isabella’s Moss Lake Cemetery.

Along with this monument, the memorial will feature a large concrete wall.

“The wall is 36 feet long, and it’s eight feet tall,” Bradshaw said. It consists of 18 blocks, each of which weighs 3,000 pounds.

While the wall has been constructed and the monument has been ordered, Bradshaw said the first phase of the memorial has not yet been completed. Future improvements will include the installation of the monument and three flagpoles — which will display the flags of the United States, the State of Michigan, and POW/MIA — the addition of wall plaques honoring the five branches of the U.S. military, and more.

According to Bradshaw, American Legion Post 301 will hold a dedication ceremony for the memorial this summer.

“It’s going to be a really nice ceremony,” he said.

After this ceremony, Bradshaw said the next step for the project will be the installation of a second granite monument. The names of roughly 250 veterans from the Nahma Township area will be engraved onto this monument.

“We’re going to have all their names carved in that stone,” he said.

Bradshaw said the Nahma Township Veterans Memorial was funded in part by donations from the Nahma Labor Day Committee and the Nahma Music Festival. The Nahma Boat Club, which disbanded last summer, also contributed to the memorial fund.

“They donated a nice chunk of money, also,” Bradshaw said.

In addition to these organizations, several private donors have supported the memorial project — Bradshaw said one private donation reached the $7,000 mark. Additionally, all of the construction work for the memorial is being done by volunteers.

“I’ve had a lot of volunteer help,” Bradshaw said.

For information on how to make a contribution towards the Nahma Township Veterans Memorial, or to add a name to the list of Nahma Township’s veterans, visit the project’s official website at www.nahmatownship.us/veterans-memorial.

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