Grafton City Council Approves Commission for Veteran’s Memorial Project  

GRAFTON - At its regular meeting on December 20, the Grafton City Council unanimously approved Mayor Mike Morrow’s proposed Commission that will explore the feasibility of creating a national Veteran’s Memorial in Grafton to honor all who have served and are serving our great country.

The twenty Commissioners will collectively provide direction, guidance, and oversight to the entire project from initial layout and contest design to the selection and implementation of the winning designs.

“We are excited to actually get this project moving,” said Mayor Morrow. “We have a robust Commission comprised of highly qualified and enthusiastic people.”

The centerpiece of the Grafton Memorial would be a life-size WWII reenactment in metallic figures of the U. S. Army Rangers climbing the Pointe Du Hoc cliffs at Omaha Beach (part of the initial D-Day landings on June 6, 1944) and using the limestone bluffs near the Grafton Visitor’s Center to replicate the cliffs of Normandie, France.

Located on the Great River Road in Grafton, this monument would quickly become a national attraction for the tourism industry, bringing thousands of visitors to the region by bus, boat, motorcycle, and car.

The Commission will periodically provide updates for the City Council on their progress.

The Commission will serve as an advisory group — gathering, providing, reviewing, and ranking ideas and proposals for the memorial. They will provide direction, guidance, and oversight for any efforts as well as periodically brief the City Council on their progress. The City Council will have the final approval on any recommendations for action.

Photos provided by Dave Sanford, City Photographer.

The following people have been appointed by the City Council to serve as a member of the Veteran’s Memorial Commission:

• Mike Morrow - Mayor
• Ben Goetten – State’s Attorney, Jersey County
• Cory Jobe – President & CEO, Great Rivers & Routes
• Colin Wellenkamp – Executive Director, MRCTI
• Ben Allen – Grafton Businessman
• Eric Spanton – Grafton Police Chief
• Alan Gilmore – Economic Development
• Jim Curry – Director of Capital Projects, Principia
• Richard Flowers – Viet Nam Veteran & Current Adjutant, American Legion Post 648
• David Hand – Alderman oversight on Grafton Veteran’s Committee
• Brian ‘Sonny’ McDonald – Grafton Veteran’s Committee – Marine Corps Veteran
• Scott Manning – Grafton’s Veteran’s Committee - Air Force Veteran
• Gary Hayes – Vietnam Veteran
• Dan Bechtold – Vietnam Veteran
• Peggy O’Neil – City Administration Manager
• Gray McGee – Veteran Western Military Academy
• Ralph ‘Bo’ Jackson – Veteran Western Military Academy
• Charles ‘CB Jackson’– Veteran Western Military Academy
• Christine Robertsen – Liaison, Omaha Beach, France
• Lynne Morrow- Coordinator with Christine Robertsen, Liaison/Omaha Beach, France

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