Destination to celebrate veterans planned in Oconomowoc
Oconomowoc - An official groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the site of the new Veterans Memorial Park in the city's downtown.
The part will serve as a fitting memorial for veterans which has been in the planning stages for decades. It is a tribute that is long overdue say organizers and Oconomowoc residents, and veterans, Kurt Schrang and Mac Dorn. The two have been leading the effort to raise $495,000 to convert the park into a tribute that will be an educational component for younger generations. The memorial will be a must-see destination in the city.
“It’s important to understand – and many people don’t – about our freedom. You can really attribute our freedom to the soldier. We truly wouldn’t have that if we hadn’t won these wars decisively. It would be an entirely different world. We have to be ever mindful,” he shared.
Schrang and Dorn have actually been among a group of people discussing creating a proper memorial in the city since the 1990s. For years, the timing, a location, funds and other factors were still not complete pieces, but the vision and effort has become clearer in the last few years.
Schrang and Dorn led the charge to rename the park in the city’s downtown, Veterans Memorial Park, with the next step being a fitting design for the memorial area. The idea is to reestablish a current park off North Lake Road, formerly called Library Park.
The two got together a few years ago minds chock-full of ideas.
“He would list ideas and I would draw,” said Schrang about a lunch meeting where the two thought about the symbolic meaning that could be incorporated into the memorial.
The detailed meaning behind the design is as deep as the feelings the two men have for the importance of thanking veterans.
The star is a strong symbol within the design in the center of the memorial. The star’s five points represent the five service organizations. At the points of the star will be the crest of each branch of the service and the military organization’s flag will be placed there. Columns will be placed at each point of the star that signifies strength. A metal arch will rise over the centerpiece representing unity with an eagle, the symbol of American freedom and authority, at its crest.
An honor wall is planned to pay tribute to those who served. Schrang said it’s estimated around 2,500 local veterans' names will be placed on the wall. An honor walk will incorporate bricks that can be purchased by anyone who wishes to recognize someone in the park. A special place is also planned for the Prisoners of War and Missing in Action along with a Reverence and Recollection area.
There are 83,241 U.S. soldiers that have been missing since WWI, of which there are more than 1,700 from Wisconsin.
If you look at the numbers, the quantitative sacrifice made in lives alone is always a grim and staggering reminder.
There were 116,000 U.S. soldiers that died in World War I; 11 were from Oconomowoc. World War II took more than 500,000 soldiers’ lives that included 21 Oconomowoc residents. In the Korean War, 33,741 U.S. Soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.
More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers died in Vietnam, of which 8 were from Oconomowoc, in the war in which 9 million soldiers served over 10 years of conflict.
Pouring over the history creates the nucleus of the effort the two men are leading today, said Dorn. He added that there are plans for other conflicts to be recognized in the memorial park.
Establishing a proper place for remembrance and tribute, which has been in the hearts and on the minds of the two men, began to become more visible to the community in the last few years. A fundraising event was held last February that generated a healthy response. The community came out strongly to support the creation of Veterans Memorial Park giving them a good start.
A local family whose father was a veteran and one of the most patriotic men you will ever met, they said, recently donated the pole for the American flag in the park. They said it was the perfect way to remember their father who never let an opportunity to salute his country's flag pass him by.
Dorn said they have raised about 60 percent of the $495,000 needed to create the park tribute.
Dorn said every time a bit of news gets out about the park, a little support comes in. Stories and sentimental reactions are common, too.
“There are still more stories to be told,” he said.
Many of the veterans are quiet about their service. They’re humble. They don’t expect attention for the sacrifices they were willing to make.
But when you hear the passion from those involved in the project and the reaction from local veterans who hear about it, you can’t help but catch some of his energy and agree that such a memorial is needed in the community. Now is the time to rally the troops for creation of the memorial. Once it’s built, then there will be the time for silent reflection.
Whether you know of a soldier’s story, have heard a story or are the story, the memorial serves as a collective place for everyone. It’s a place for reflection, a place to remember, a place to be quiet.
For more information about Veterans Memorial Park, visit http://www.veteransmemorialpark-ocon.org/