Become a ‘civilian hero’
People can serve their country by joining efforts to create new war memorials
Bob and Pat Ross were patriots whose land-donation legacy should plant the seed of similar generosity into the minds of fellow Americans.
In 1998, the late couple donated two acres of their 10-acre horse farm to the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway, which eventually became the site of the Lake County Korean Veterans Memorial, dedicated in 2003. Their donation cemented lasting honor to the 101 soldiers from Lake County who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Korean War, as well as those who served during that war.
“Bob and Pat are truly great American patriots,” said Paul Reed, a FVMP board member. “They proudly and generously donated those two acres of their property.”
The couple were staunch supporters of the Memorial Parkway, viewing their civic duty as a military-minded mission. Pat, who died in 2018, served as the organization’s treasurer for many years. Bob, who died in 2015, contributed regular maintenance on the memorial site. Together, they prepared the donated land and transported construction materials using their familiar team of Clydesdale horses.
“My dad spent his whole life around and working with draft horses, so when it came to doing things on the park it was just natural for him to use horses to get the work done,” said Gale Ross, the couple’s son who lives in Warrensburg, Missouri. “He used his team of draft horses to move materials, build the fence around the park, and to establish the small piece of prairie ground in the middle of the park.”
Since his youth, Bob Ross had been involved in his community, wherever he lived and however he could help.
“Whether it was as a volunteer fireman, driving a team of horses in a parade, or giving kids a ride on a hay wagon behind his horses, he really liked being around people and helping out,” his son said. “Bob and Pat both were honored to be able to donate the land for that park.”
On Monday at 1 p.m., the Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway will honor the couple — heralded as civilian heroes — by dedicating a one-acre prairie on the site. It decorates the intersection of 145th Ave. and U.S. 231, just east of the hamlet of Leroy. The Memorial Day dedication will take place during the organization’s annual flag raising and wreath laying ceremony. Guests are welcomed to attend.
“We are forever grateful for Bob and Pat’s dedication,” said Mitch Barloga, the organization’s president.
Its mission is to continue the parkway’s series of projects by creating a lasting tribute to honor those military personnel from Northwest Indiana who’ve served and sacrificed for our country. Currently, two of those projects are completed — the Lake County Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean Veterans Memorial.
Two others are under development — the Lake County World Wars I & II Veterans Holocaust Memorial, and the Northwest Indiana Middle East Veterans Memorial. Earlier this month, the FVMP and city of Crown Point signed a memorandum of understanding granting the organization access to Sauerman Woods Park to develop the memorial for World Wars I and II.
“Relocating the memorial to Sauerman Woods allows the community to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice all year, not just on select holidays,” said Crown Point Mayor David Uran.
The FVMP, created in 2001, will be designing the site this year, with construc
tion beginning in 2023, then continuing for the next few years. Eventually, the broader plan is to erect more than a dozen similar memorials along the 15-mile parkway. Dedicated in 1994 by the Indiana Legislature, it’s located in central Lake County and part of Porter County along U.S. 231 from Hebron to St. John.
“Bob and Pat Ross could have done other things with that property of theirs. But they had generous hearts and thought about the public and those war veterans,” said John Stacks, a Vietnam War veteran who founded the Veterans Memorial Parkway.
In 1998, Bob Ross approached Stacks to offer a most unheard of proposal by region residents. Stacks graciously accepted the donation from the couple, whose former home overlooked the memorial site.
“The first time I saw that American flag and heard it snap in the wind, that did it,” Pat Ross told the Post-Tribune in 1999 when the couple was presented with a “Champion of the Parkway” plaque for their donation.
My hope with this Memorial Day column is to inspire future “civilian heroes” to make similar donations honoring local soldiers who gave the ultimate donation. This can be done not only with donated land, but with donated time, money, resources and support for these war memorials. Join the effort at www.vetparkway.com.
Stacks, who’s considered the “Father of the Parkway,” sums it up best: “People can serve their country without serving in the military. This is one way to do so.”