Vermont veteran families announce memorial plans
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Amber Merchant, 14, daughter of Spc. Christopher Merchant, looks at a clay rendering of the future Vermont Global War on Terror Memorial with sisters (from left) Kristen Merchant, 13, and Leighanne, 11, and their grandmother, Janet Merchant, in Randolph on Wednesday. The Associated Press |
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By JOHN CURRAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Published: November 12, 2009
RANDOLPH — Vermont has paid a bigger price than any other state in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Now, the families of military members killed in the conflicts are planning a memorial to them, to be built at the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph.
Fundraising is under way in hopes of collecting $350,000 to finance the memorial and start construction next summer, according to members of the group Vermont Fallen Families, which unveiled design plans for it Wednesday during a Veterans Day event at the cemetery.
"We wanted to keep all the boys' memories alive and keep in mind everyone who served," said Kevin McLaughlin, 53, of Bolton, whose son, Army National Guard Spc. Scott P. McLaughlin, was killed by a sniper's bullet in 2005, near Ramadi. "This is going to go on for a while yet, from the looks," he said of the wars.
Thirty-six servicemen with Vermont links have died or been killed in the conflicts, by the group's count. That number includes some who weren't Vermont residents but had ties to the state, such as having attended Norwich University military college or lived in the state for at least two years at some point in their lives.
By the Pentagon's count, 22 Vermonters have been killed in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, giving the state the highest per-capita death rate of any state — 3.54 per 100,000 of population — for the Iraq war.
The proposed monument is aimed at keeping the memories of those people alive, and recognizing the sacrifices of others who've served in the conflicts.
"It would mean a lot," said Leighanne Merchant, 11, of Hardwick, whose father, Vermont National Guard Spc. Christopher Merchant, was killed near Ramadi in 2006. "They sacrificed a lot for our country. We don't have a memorial for the war on terror," said Merchant.
With her two sisters, she led about 75 people in saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the ceremony Wednesday.
Built with Barre gray granite, the Vermont Fallen Heroes Global War on Terror Memorial will consist of a sculpture of an M-16 rifle, helmet and dog tags and relief carvings showing a citizen-soldier and a maple tree shedding leaves that symbolize fallen servicemembers.
In front of that will be a sarcophagus etched with the names of the war dead, three semicircular bench walls and three monoliths representing their family, comrades and fellow citizens.
The group, which has raised $90,000 to date and the offer of $80,000 more in in-kind services, hopes to break ground by Memorial Day and dedicate the memorial on Nov. 11, 2010, according to Marion Gray, of Calais, whose stepson was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Clayton Clark, director of veterans services for the state of Vermont, called the fundraising goal challenging but said he believed it could be reached.
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