news-record.com

Members of the Northwest Guil­ford Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7999 will break ground on a veterans memorial at 10 a.m. Monday in the Summerfield Community Park.

“It’s a shame that Summerfield hasn’t done this before,” post commander Roy Lee said. “We felt like it was about time somebody try and put (a memorial) out there. We’re just trying to pay tribute to our veterans,” Lee said.

Lee said the post members have been discussing the memorial for about a year and are now trying to raise money toward the effort.

“It’s been slow,” Lee said about fundraising efforts. “It’s probably because of the economic times we’ve had.” He hopes donations will pick up now that work has begun on the memorial. As of last week, a contractor for the project had not been secured. The VFW expects to spend about $150,000.

Summerfield Mayor Mark Brown said he supports the post’s efforts.
“It will be in an established park where there will be perpetual care and maintenance,” he said. “And it will be in close proximity to the school, so that the children will have constant exposure to the memorial.”

The post wants to make sure that the community’s veterans get their recognition.

“So many of the troops have served and some have come back whole, some missing parts, and some didn’t come back at all,” Lee said. “This is a fitting tribute to their honor.”

Contact Tiffany S. Jones at 373- 7157 or tiffany.jones@news-record.com