AN ACT OF REMEMBRANCE

Residents come together for new Veteran’s Memorial dedication

Residents and veterans gathered Sept. 14 in Avon to dedicate the city’s new Veterans Memorial. The new memorial, 36185 Detroit Road, is a small courtyard containing six granite stones emblazoned with military images and representing a war in which America took part in. The center there are three stones bearing the names and information of three Avon natives who died while serving in the military.

As you enter the memorial there are two brick pillars crowned with eagle sculptures looking down.

Matthew Mattner, adjutant for the David F. Schneider Avon/Avon

“For us, it’s a wonderful feeling to have the support of our community and our city’s leaders.” — Matthew Mattner, adjutant for the David F. Schneider Avon/Avon Lake VFW Post 7035

Lake VFW Post 7035 led the ceremony and said that the post was thankful that Avon Mayor Bryan K. Jensen asked them to take part in the planning and building of the memorial.

“For us it’s a wonderful feeling to have the support of our community and our city’s leaders,” he said. “Today we will dedicate this amazing creation to remember all of our veterans from all branches of service that have served at all times, but especially three of Avon’s heroes that didn’t come home.”

These three heroes are the people featured on the inner stones of the memorial: Army Sgt. Patrick E. Smith Jr., Marine Corp Cpl. David F. Schneider and Air Force Cpt. John “Mighty Mouse” Barelka.

The stones feature engravings of their images as well as personal information about each.

Family members of each man were in attendance and briefly spoke about their appreciation for the community’s generosity in creating the memorial.

Jensen said the new memorial is meant to be a safe place for people to come and remember the sacrifice of those in uniform, but he said he only had one bit of input in the project.

“The only say I had in this whole project is that in the back of this one pillar there is saying and I was thinking that as people walk through, on their way out, they would do like you see in football games and on the way out, they would put their hand on there in remembrance because there’s nothing we can do to repay the gratitude that is deserved for these who have lost their lives and those that are even serving,” he said. “In the coming future, I’m hoping there will be so many fingerprints on it, not so you won’t be able to read it, but you’ll know there was that many people who came and saw this.”

Beside touching the slogan, there is another way that veterans specifically can leave a mark of remembrance at the memorial.

“Later on as you walk through the memorial, you’ll see coins placed on top of our three heroes’ monuments and those coins have meaning,” Mattner explained. “The penny means that they visited, they’re a veteran who came and visited the memorial. A nickel means that they trained at boot camp, or initial training. A dime means that they served with the member, and the quarter means that they were in the theater of operations when that member died.”

There was already a growing pile of coins on each stone by the end of the ceremony.

KEITH REYNOLDS — THE MORNING JOURNAL VFW State Commander David K. Root salutes Sept. 14 after placing a challenge coin on each of the commemorative stones at the new Avon Veterans Memorial, 36185 Detroit Road.