Brick by
brick, a dream is getting closer to reality. Organizers planning to
build a World War II monument at Wichita's Veterans Memorial Park are
raising money in part by selling commemorative bricks honoring
Wichita-area World War II vets at $100 each. That has brought in $7,500
so far for the $35,000 project.
"Getting this
done isn't a life or death matter," said Phil Blake, 87, a World War II
veteran and one of the leaders of the effort. "But I'd like to get it
done while I'm still around and so do many of the other World War II
veterans. They want it done this year."
Plans call for
the completed memorial to be dedicated around Dec. 7 — the 70th
anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But the dedication won't be
held on Dec. 7, out of respect for the few remaining Wichita-area Pearl
Harbor survivors who will hold their own ceremony that day, Blake said.
A
groundbreaking ceremony for the World War II memorial and an American
Revolutionary War monument will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 9.
The
Revolutionary War monument is scheduled to be completed in 2013. But
since the two monuments will be only 40 feet apart, Blake said about
$10,000 can be saved by pouring the concrete footings for both projects
at the same time. That work is expected to begin about July 19.
The bricks
being sold for the World War II memorial will be used to pave the
walkway leading to the two 6-foot tall, 8-inch-thick granite panels.
The bricks
will be engraved with a veteran's name, branch of service, theater of
operation and dates of service.
For years,
Blake has been the unofficial caretaker for maintaining Wichita's war
memorials and getting new ones established. About a decade ago, people
began going to him to ask about getting a World War II monument in
Veterans Memorial Park, along the Arkansas River near downtown.
Things began
to solidify last fall when World War II Memorial Inc. was established to
guide the plans.
The project
has been dubbed "Operation Kilroy," in reference to the bald-headed man
poking his long nose over a wall next to the inscription "Kilroy was
here." That popped up all over the country and war theaters during World
War II, and it will also be engraved on the back of one of the panels.
Blake wasn't
keen on using bricks as a fundraiser at first. He thought they would be
more trouble than they would be worth.
But as word
spread about the bricks, the demand for them grew.
"I started
getting checks in the mail," Blake said. "It's hard to say no to that
kind of thing, so I changed my mind."
By Blake's
estimate, about 20,000 men and women from the Wichita area served in the
military during World War II.
Current plans
call for only 500 commemorative bricks, but Blake said the walkway's
width could be expanded to increase the number to 1,000.
Still, he
said, "We may have to turn some people away. We don't have an infinite
amount of space."
BY RICK PLUMLEE - The
Wichita Eagle
