Veterans Memorial ‘a dream come true’

GLADSTONE — When a handful of local veterans talked about the possibility of creating a veterans park, there was no doubt in their minds that they could create a memorial that was impressive and attractive. Somehow they knew what they wanted and set out to carry out all their plans.

“A group of us were at the old legion club and got to talking about a park,” said Bob Mineau, chairman of the park committee. “When we learned that the property across from where we were fixing up our new legion club was available, we decided to buy it.”

Six years later, the park, located at the corner of Superior Ave. and 8th Street, is near completion and is a great source of pride for the members of the Delta County Veterans Memorial Park Committee.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Mineau. “When people come to see it, they really like it.”

Once the group purchased the vacant lot, the work began in earnest. The focal point of the park is an impressive granite memorial, engraved with the names of all area servicemen and women who were killed in military action since the Civil War. The name of Cpl. Joe Micks, who was killed in action while serving in Iraq in 2006, was added after the wall was put in place and is the sole local casualty of the Global War on Terror.

Walkways, all leading to the granite memorial, have been added and engraved bricks are beginning to line the walks. The bricks are offered for sale to families, individuals, businesses and service organizations and engraved as a tribute to those who have served in the military or to express support for servicemen and women throughout the years.

In addition, a number of trees, bushes and flowers have been planted around the park.

While the members of the veterans park committee have upheld their dream, Mineau and fellow committee member, Mike Falcon, acknowledge that the work would have been long delayed without the help of volunteers, particularly Wayne Berthaume, former commander of American Legion Post 71 of Gladstone. According to Mineau, Berthaume has spent countless hours working on the park project.

“We have about $150,000 invested in this memorial park,” Mineau said. “We wouldn’t have what we have today if it wasn’t for the volunteers and those who have provided the donations to make it possible.”

Even one of the neighbors — Erma Branstrom — has played an important part in the creation of the memorial. Branstrom offered the side of a shed located in her back yard adjacent to the park on which a mural has been painted as a tribute to the military.

“She (Branstrom) has been a real blessing to us,” Mineau said. “All she said is ‘If you can make it pretty, then go for it.’ And we did.”

A steel silhouette statue of a kneeling soldier was created by local veteran, John Van Brocklin and added to the park. The cost of the project was donated by Independent Machine and a dedication plaque was donated by Daniel Kobasic.

The children of Lee and Ralph Gillespie donated a wooden bench in memory of their father, who was a veteran of World War II. It sits on the edge of the sidewalk across from the granite memorial. Mineau said the committee is planning to add a similar bench for the other side of the walk.

“We would also like to put more benches around the park,” he said.

The only planned feature of the park that was soon nixed by the committee was the addition of a pavilion.

“This is a memorial park, not a playground,” he pointed out. “We don’t want it to be used as a picnic area. We want people to come and visit it and reflect on what it means.”

But despite all the recent updates, Mineau and Falcon point out that there is still work to be done.

“We still want to add a couple of arch signs at both entrances and there’s a little more landscaping yet to complete,” Mineau said.

Both Mineau and Falcon are excited about the upcoming addition of a Navy A-4 SkyHawk fighter plane obtained from a Navy museum in Pensacola, Fla. The plane will grace the northwest corner of the property.

“It was up at K.I. Sawyer and now that the airbase is closed, they would have had to send it back to Pensacola,” Mineau said. “But we said, ‘Why send it clear back to Florida? ... just send it our way.’”

The plane is expected to be in place by the Fourth of July. The park committee has lined the sidewalks throughout the park with an avenue of flags for Memorial Day.

The plane isn’t the only authentic piece of military memorabilia planned for the park.

“We also have approval to get a Howitzer cannon,” Mineau said. “When we get it, it will be installed on the other side of the park.”

The addition of a kiosk is in the planning stage. The informational sign will allow visitors to check out data from the various wars that have been fought by the United States, photos of uniforms of each branch of the military, and other interesting information.

“We haven’t gotten the details worked out yet, but we hope it won’t be too long,” Mineau said.

The park committee has been conducting ongoing fund-raisers to help finance the project, including the sale of bricks, participation in Gladstone’s Crazy Days and various programs at the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds.

The committee will be offering bricks for sale until there’s no more room to install them, Mineau said. “We have quite a pile of them ready and will be putting them in place as soon as we can, but we would like to have enough to line every walkway here.”

Small bricks are offered for $65 and large ones for $125. Funds from future sale of the bricks will be used to help maintain the park.

Both Air Force veterans, Mineau and Falcon say they are not surprised the park has become a reality so quickly.

“While we’re not surprised, we are very pleased,” said Falcon. “Once we decided to start it, we went all out for it.”

Mineau added, “This was our vision right from the start.”