MANSFIELD — A groundbreaking ceremony for the Mansfield Gold Star Families Memorial Monument is planned July 6 at 11:30 a.m. on the front lawn of the Richland County Courthouse.
The public is invited to the ceremony at at 50 Park Ave. East.
The purpose of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument is to honor Gold Star Families, preserve the memory of the fallen, and stand as a stark reminder that freedom is not free.
The black granite monument features two sides. One side bears the words: Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, a tribute to Gold Star Families and Relatives who have sacrificed a Loved One for our Freedom.
The other side tells a story through the four granite panels: Homeland, Family, Patriot, and Sacrifice. The scenes on each panel are a reflection of the community’s Gold Star Families and their fallen heroes. At the center of this tribute is the most distinct feature of the monument, the cut out which represents the loved one who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.
The keynote speaker will be Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, a retired U.S. Marine Corps warrant officer.
Williams heads up the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument movement and the Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Foundation. It is through his vision of honoring and paying tribute to these Gold Star Families “for their sacrifice of one of their loved ones” that the monument is becoming a reality in Mansfield.
Also in attendance will be Gold Star Families.
For additional information pertaining to the groundbreaking ceremony, contact Jared Smith at 740-398-4584 or Mike Bailey at 419-565-2777.
To donate to the memorial or for more information you can find the Mansfield Ohio Gold Star Families Memorial Monument official web page at: www.hwwmohf.org/mansfield-oh.html and they can be found on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/MansfieldGSFMM.
