Page 46 - Sun Rays May 2013

46 | SUNRAYS MAY 2013 ONLINE: SCTXCA.ORG
WILLIAMSON COUNTY
MEMORIAL WALL
Through his investigating,
Bob found that a local Navy
recruiter had worked toward
a similar goal – a memorial in
San Gabriel park for Williamson
County veterans. This recruiter
got as far as engraving eight
granite plates with the names
of 160 servicemen who gave
their lives in WWI, WWII, Korea
and Vietnam, before he was
relocated to Japan and the
project came to a grinding halt.
The engraved plates were stored
in a buddy’s garage, until they
were given to the Georgetown
police Department, who gave
them to Southwestern University
– when, somehow or other, they
wound up piled behind the VFW
post 8587 building on North
College Street.
Miraculously, nobody messed
with them. The VFW offered
the plates to the Steering
Committee, and the plates are
now a part of the Williamson
County Memorial Wall. Since
then, a ninth plate was added and
now holds 175 names, including
10 servicemen who were killed
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It was tremendous,” Bob said of the
grand opening Memorial Day ceremony.
More than 2,500 residents fromSun City
Texas, Georgetown and the surround-
ing area were in attendance. The United
States Air Force Band of the West from
Lackland AFB performed the patriotic
music. The land that the memorial was
built upon was deeded over from Del
Webb to the Sun City Texas Community
Association. The ceremony ended with a
“missing man” flyover. And so the Veter-
ans Memorial Plaza was dedicated and
put to use honoring the servicemen and
women of our country.
PRESENT
Today, Bob sits with me on his enclosed
back patio, with plates from all around
the country lining the top of the room.
Nautical watercolors painted by the man
himself adorn the walls of his home,
along with signs like “Captain’s Quar-
ters” and numerous service awards given
to the Commander.
“This is probably one of the most beau-
tiful [memorials] in Texas; it’s an out-
standing job everybody did,” he says.
In the 10 years since the memorial was
dedicated, the plaza has grown with
the addition of trees and bricks, and
has become a staple in the community.
The annual Memorial Day and Veterans
Day ceremonies have brought acclaimed
speakers―including Governor Rick Per-
ry in 2012―attendees from across Texas,
and growing numbers of veterans and
families from Sun City Texas and Wil-
liamson County.
Bob has helped plan other events in
the past, including the Fourth of July
Birthday Celebration held on July 3, a
smaller event compared to Memorial
Day or Veterans Day, but another way
we can honor the history and service of
our nation’s liberators.
And it all started as an idea sparked
during a drive through Florence.
Kudos and thank you to Bob and the rest
of the VMP Steering Committee. Ten
years later, and the plaza continues to
be sacred ground, honoring our fathers
and mothers, our brothers and sisters,
our friends and heroes. Thank you.
Continued from the previous page
General Chuck Graham addresses the crowd at the inaugural Memorial Day
Ceremony on May 26, 2003.
At left, builders work on constructing the
main wall of the memorial in early 2003.