Sunnyside Post 73 of has been busy over the last few years building a Veterans Memorial that will eventually hold 42 large granite Walls, all over 8 feet tall. Half of the Walls are made from Georgia Grey granite and are engraved with plaques honoring individual veterans. The other half of the granite Walls are black granite and engraved with military information.
Here are six Black Granite WALLS forming what we call the "Stonehenge" effect. The Veterans Memorial will have three circles just like this-----making up 18 of the 42 granite WALLS that will eventually be installed.
Jerry Taylor Veterans Plaza
Sunnyside, WA
May 15, 2019
We installed these two flagpoles that were fabricated to hold an eagle and globe weighing over 60 lbs. The eagles are two-foot tall.
This picture was taken when we only had 10 large granite WALLS installed at the Veterans Memorial. 50% of the WALLS will be grey WALLS engraved with plaques honoring individual veterans; and 50% of the granite WALLS will be Black granite WALLS engraved with military information..
Here is our Purple Heart WALL that tells the history of the Purple Heart medal.
Here is our Combat Infantry Badge granite WALL. This WALL tells the history of the CIB medal and the how esteemed the medal is among all veterans.
Here is the Medal of Honor WALL installed in 2016. Each year we add 3 more large granite WALLS to our Veterans Memorial. It will take us 10 more years to finish this Veterans Memorial.
We have found those from Sunnyside, Washington who were once held as POW's and have now engraved their names in the heart of our City. They are forgotten no more.
It took many years, but we found the names of those from Sunnyside who were Killed-In-Action during America's foreign wars. We have room to add more names if that is needed. No longer will families need to wait to see the names of their loved ones from Sunnyside who gave the full measure of their devotion to our nation. We are prepared to engraved the names of any veteran from Sunnyside who gives up his or her life for our nation---thus helping the family to immediately begin the healing process.
We have two WALLS----this WALL depicting the attack on American soil by terrorists on September 11, 2001. We also have a WALL depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. These two WALLS will help our youth to never forget our nation's important history.
Each plaque is 13 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches tall. We include each veteran's rank, unit, and years in the military. With this information, high schools students can find out everything they need to know about each veteran's service to our nation. This picture shows how one veteran remembered those who served beside him during the Vietnam War and gave up their lives. This Memorial allows all veterans to remember their fallen comrades.
Submitted by:
Greg Schlieve, Sunnyside Post 73 commander
