Waco Tribune Herald"The memorial, which will honor all veterans who have served in any branch of the military, will be dedicated Friday in an Independence Day ceremony.
The project is spearheaded by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6008, with some support from the city of Hewitt.
“We wanted to put a memorial up so we have a place to go on Fourth of July, on Memorial Day, to honor our veterans here in Hewitt,” said Robert Smith, vice commander of the post.
Hewitt City Council approved setting aside space at the park for the project in March.
The city also spent about $2,000 to create a concrete base for the memorial in the shape of a pentagon, to honor the U.S. Department of Defense’s headquarters.
The five points on the base each contain a bronze plaque with the name of one of the five branches of the military.
City Manager Adam Miles said the city would be open to working with the post on future events around the memorial.
“We’re happy to let the VFW group take the lead, and we want to help them recognize the service of our veterans in an appropriate way,” Miles said.
The memorial is made of granite and stands about 4 feet tall, with an American flag on the front and the city of Hewitt’s logo on the back.
It was created by Phipps Memorial, which has designed other veterans projects throughout the county, including one at Lacy Lakeview Veterans Memorial Park and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Waco’s Indian Spring Park.
Phipps Memorial donated most of the materials for the project, but the VFW Post paid about $2,000 to cover labor costs, Smith said.
Lloyd Coffman, a member of the post and president of the McLennan County Veterans Association, said the idea was spurred from a discussion about limited room at the group’s annual Memorial Day ceremony at Waco Memorial Park.
The veterans association used to hold the ceremony at Rosemound Cemetery, but moved it to Waco Memorial beginning in 2013 because the site was easier to navigate for elderly and disabled veterans.
But Coffman said the ceremony space at Waco Memorial already is becoming cramped. The program is primarily staged in an open space of the cemetery, but the organization is concerned about infringing upon graves surrounding the site as attendance increases for the event.
Coffman estimated that more than 350 people attended the program this May, though an exact head count was not taken.
“The front side (of the cemetery) is completely filled up with veterans monuments, and of course no one wants to walk on graves,” Coffman said. “The back side is beginning to get filled up, and I figure in the next couple of years we probably won’t be able to even do it on the back side.”
Coffman said the veterans association may relocate the annual Memorial Day ceremony to Hewitt Park.
Advantages to the site include an existing pavilion with restroom facilities and easier access in comparison to Waco Memorial, which sits on Interstate 35.
Smith said Post 6008 also may opt to hold its own Memorial Day program at the new Hewitt Park memorial, as well as use the location for other veteran-themed events throughout the year.
Smith said the memorial also represents more educational outreach for the community, especially young children. The post already works with elementary schools in Hewitt on veteran-related service projects.
“There’s kids that are going to go there and see it, and the kids are going to ask questions, and they should ask questions,” Smith said.
“They should know why men and women of our country have made the sacrifices that they’ve made for our freedom.”"