Monroe County's Tribute to Fallen display to honor 841 locals lost in war
Eight hundred and forty-one.
That is the number of Monroe County soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve the United States since the War of 1812, according to Corl-Gaynier AmVets Post 1942, which is affiliated with the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, located off Jones Avenue.
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All 841 will be honored with a Tribute to the Fallen display, starting at 9 a.m. on May 28, at Soldiers and Sailors Park.
“A lot of people get the days mixed up. Memorial Day isn’t for those who came home, it’s for those who lost their lives in war,” said Corl-Gaynier’s Sam Struth, who is an army veteran. “Veterans Day is for us veterans, who were able to serve our country and be able to come home and live the rest of our lives. That’s the main thing that any veteran will tell you. Memorial Day isn’t for the veterans, it’s for the veterans who didn’t come home.”
Struth broke down the numbers lost during each conflict. They include:
- 428 of Monroe County service men died in the Civil War
- 219 during WWII
- 60 in Vietnam
- 52 in WWI
- 30 during the Mexican-American War
- 27 during the Korean War
- 11 during the War on Terror
- 6 in the Spanish-American War
- 5 during military operations against Native American tribes
- 3 in the War of 1812.
Each one of the fallen will be honored by their own individualized temporary tombstone made by Monroe Signs. These individualized signs will be arranged in chronological order as a visual reminder of the scale of the sacrifice of Monroe County-native service members who went to fight for this country and never returned.
If your family are long time members of the Monroe community, there is a good chance you will find at least one ancestor among those tombstones, Struth said.
“I have always been a strong supporter of our armed forces," Monroe Signs owner Brian Walz said. "I have been fortunate enough to have never served. I’ve never lost anybody in a war, even though I have had people in my family who have served. It is my way of giving back and saying thank you to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and frankly to say thank you to anyone who has served.”
Representatives from the Civil Air Patrol – a squadron of aviators who conduct search and rescue missions – will be there to set up the display. The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Corps – a group of young people involved in learning how to fly – will also be there to help.
The tombstones will start to be put into the ground near the Civil War Memorial starting at 10 a.m. The Civil War Memorial will be used as a centerpiece, with fallen service members who died up until WWI to the west of the memorial and service members from WWII to the east.
Free coffee and donuts will be provided.
