Families with more than one member who’ve served in the military will soon be able to commemorate that fact at Veterans Memorial Park.
The park board is planning three new walkways on the grounds overlooking the Arkansas River. One of these will be directly south of the Vietnam Memorial, where space will be set aside for up to 1,500 pavers inscribed with the names of Vietnam Era (1955-75) veterans. A second walkway will be added to the Korean Memorial, adding pavers there for the first time since its completion. And a third walkway – between those two memorials and the World War II Walkway – will be opened to veterans from all wars.
“If your grandfather, you and your son – or daughter – all served, you can be put all together,” said board member Skip Ward. “That’s what makes this kind of a neat deal.”
Pavers cost $100 each. Ward said installation of the pavers will begin “just as quick as we sell enough” to pay for the work. For more info, visit
wichitaveteransmemorialpark.com.
A couple of other changes at the park will be in place in time for Veterans Day on Nov. 11. A memorial dedicated to American Indian veterans of the Vietnam era is being moved to the park from Kingman, where it sat on private property. It will stand just north of the Vietnam Memorial.
And another memorial was erected this fall by the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, making what’s known as the “first conflict of the Cold War.” Ward said members of the association, who recently held their annual convention in Wichita, were so impressed by the park that they decided to put a memorial in it.
