TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (WIAT) — Saturday afternoon, Trussville city leaders, community members and local veterans held a groundbreaking ceremony for the future site of the Alabama Fallen Warrior Monument at Veterans Park.
The monument will honor every military member from Alabama killed while on active duty since 9/11.
The monument will be the first of its kind in the state of Alabama. Those involved in the project hope to welcome visitors from across the state who want to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“When a veteran dies, he or she dies two deaths. The first is when they die, the second is when they are forgotten. The mission for the Alabama Fallen Warrior Project is to make sure they are never forgotten,” said Mark Davis, the Founder of the Alabama Fallen Warrior Project.
Davis is spearheading the initiative to build a memorial site that will honor all 226 military service members that risked their lives for our freedom.
“Each one of these concrete columns is about ten inches in diameter. There are 116 of them set up in rows and columns. My vision is this, the American flag in the middle, as the Earth rotates around the sun it will cast a shadow around each one of these. There will be a bronze statue of the military cross there and then we have room to put the military bronze busts in the middle,” said Davis.
The project will cost around $200,000 but through generous donations, $34,000 has been raised.
“We’ve had a lot of donations come in so we’re ahead of our goal. It’s just a great project for Trussville and to show people how much we support our veterans, but our whole park welcomes everyone to come to visit with us,” said Mayor Buddy Choat of Trussville.
Construction on the project is hitting the ground running with the goal of being completed by May of 2022.
“Got to get the soil surveys, we have to do land surveys, we have to get in here, dig trenches. Then we start building the concrete,” said Mayor Choat.
“We hope to dedicate this memorial weekend of 2022, that’s a very aggressive plan, but we think we can make it weather permitting and everything,” said Davis.
Click here to donate to the Alabama Fallen Warrior Monument.
