ROGERS -- Charles Noelpner has seen the effect of war casualties on families and the community, something he said should never be forgotten.
There are no words to describe the gratitude some people will have for a planned Rogers memorial to honor fallen soldiers, said Noelpner, Rogers Veterans of Foreign Wars commander. Work on the Veterans' Memorial Plaza is expected to start next month.
The City Council approved a contract Tuesday with LJB Construction of Rogers to start work on the memorial, to be at the entrance of Veterans Park. The project will cost the city about $520,513.
Lance Jobe, city engineer, said the names of Rogers veterans who have died in the line of duty will be inscribed in granite at the memorial. Veterans killed in action who served in the Rogers' National Guard unit also will be displayed, he said.
The project is expected to be complete by late fall.
The Army assigned Noelpner to be a casualty assistance officer after the death of Anthony Woodham, 37, in 2008. Woodham was serving in the Army in Iraq when he died from cardiac arrest. Noelpner's job was to assist the family with daily details after the death.
"It is nice to see that the community is going to get involved in remembering these casualties," Noelpner said. "They were a part of this community and they were taken away from us by these conflicts. It is nice that the families will be able to come out and see a place with their loved ones' names."
Noelpner retired from the Army five years ago after serving for 30 years.
The idea of building a memorial in Rogers started in 2007 while U.S. Rep. Steve Womack was mayor of the city, Jobe said.
Womack said veterans' sacrifices and service are worth memorializing.
"I'm glad to see this project come to fruition, offering our community a place to reflect on and remember the patriotism and selflessness of Rogers' past, current and future veterans," Womack said.
Design work for the memorial started in about 2010, Jobe said. Granite slabs inscribed with the names of the veterans will hang on a 6-foot brick wall at the memorial site, he said. A 10-foot statue of a soldier also will be in the middle of a roundabout on East Veterans Parkway. The roundabout is near the west entrance of Veterans Park.
Jobe said the city is still organizing the list of names that will be placed on the memorial. The memorial will leave room to add additional names in the future, he said.
NW News on 06/12/2015