The Barton County Commission Monday morning invited the public to the long-awaited dedication of the Golden Belt Veterans Memorial’s first commemorative stone The event will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
The Golden Belt Memorial Park is located at 59 NW 50 Road. The public is encouraged to bring their own seating.
So far, County Administrator Richard Boeckman told the County Commission Monday morning, the Great Bend High School band is lined up to perform and there will be a speaker. The ceremony should last between a half hour and 45 minutes.
“It’s a beautiful stone,” Boeckman said. Local sculpture Chet Cale designed and is building the monument.
This is the first of two stones that will flank a center obelisk, which has already been installed. In addition to the stones, there are flags representing the branches of service, including Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy and Merchant Marines.
There are the names of 377 vets with ties to Barton County etched into the tablet, Boeckman said. The names represent all branches of the military.
Invitation letters have been sent to all those who bought lines on the stone.
“This has been an interesting project,” he said. As people have come in and purchased listings, they have related stories about.
At $45 per line, 540 had to be sold before the first stone could be ordered. Some entries take more than one line.
Now, the county is trying to sell the remaining space on the second stone. As of now, just over 100 lines have been sold for it.
Qualifications to be included are proof that the veteran was at least at one time a Barton County residency and an honorable discharge from the military. The veteran can be living or deceased, and active-duty service members are also eligible.
Those wanting to purchase a spot on the memorial can bring their payments to the Barton County Administrator’s Office in room 107 of the courthouse at 1400 Main in Great Bend. For more information, call 620-793-1800.
Checks must be made payable to Barton County.
