A new stone has been placed in Memorial Veterans Park to honor disabled American veterans of all wars.
On Thursday, many veterans of foreign wars, as well as state Sen. Cathy Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell and Mayor Sam Teresi gathered in the park and spoke about why they are thankful for the sacrifices made by American veterans.
"Every year we take the time on Memorial Day and Veterans Day to honor our veterans, but this is something we have chosen to do all throughout this month - to honor those who are disabled as a result of serving abroad," said Sen. Young. "I want to thank all the veterans here today. You all work so hard to make sure none of our veterans are forgotten. ... Today, to dedicate this memorial plaque to those veterans really drives the point home."
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The memorial stone honoring all injured American veterans.
P-J photo by Remington Whitcomb
Following Sen. Young, Goodell addressed the crowd. Because Goodell has a daughter who has served abroad, he has acquired a close personal perspective about the sacrifices made by those who serve abroad.
"These events are very personal to me," said Goodell. "My daughter served with mortuary affairs while abroad, so she has seen first hand how difficult war can be. And though she may have dealt with those who fell in battle, those who did not fall also bear the scars. This memorial today is here to remind us that we should never forget those who went ahead of us and who gave so much for us. Those who were wounded in action, suffered psychological problems, or were killed - this memorial is so important to help us remember those soldiers."
"I bet you didn't realize that today was Nov. 11," said Teresi. "We've dedicated a bridge downtown and this memorial here today to our veterans, but really this is all part of a much broader project. ... This is another special day in Jamestown. We're once again demonstrating that when we work together in the interest of others and not ourselves, much like veterans do, that there is literally nothing that we cannot accomplish. We are unstoppable as a community when we work together. We were told that the funding could not be raised for this memorial or this park ... but people in this community came together to make things happen."
During his address, Teresi asked all veterans to stand so the crowd could acknowledge them. In total, more than 25 veterans attended the ceremony.
The stone, which will indefinitely serve as a memorial to disabled veterans, was donated by Matt and Julie Harper of Four Seasons Nursery. Removal and placement of the stone in Memorial Veterans Park was donated by Steve and Kim Lundsten of Jensen and Haglund Memorials. The bronze plaque, which has been adhered to the stone, was purchased by the Disabled American Veterans chapter and reads, "In memory of all disabled American Veterans. For-Get-Me-Not."
The event was organized by Pete Carlo, Korean veteran and DAV Chapter 47 past commander.
"I want to thank the public of Jamestown for being here and honoring the veterans," said Carlo. "This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, so the disabled veterans could be honored. We've finally done it, and now it will stand here in memory. ... However, this is just the beginning. There will be other veteran organization placing memorials here, as well. We will always remember the sacrifices made by those who served, and now this memorial will help us to remember."