By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY A memorial 20 years in the making is breaking ground today.
”The idea was to have a memorial of some kind within Montgomery Township to all the men and women from Montgomery who served in the armed forces and in the merchant marines during times of war,” said Hugh Dyer, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee.
The memorial, to be located in the northern part of Montgomery Park, was designed to create a sanctuary of sorts, one that would lend itself to contemplation and observance.
”The idea is that this memorial, in and of itself, constitutes a very special kind of place,” said Mr. Dyer. “Yes, it’s a part of Montgomery Township, but it’s special. It’s removed; it’s set aside. It has a special purpose and a special meaning.”
The project is likely to run about $300,000, a sum that could be reduced by the continuing and additional contributions of goods and services from community members, said Mr. Dyer. To date, they have approximately two-thirds of the funds needed.
Other potential sites included a hilltop location, which turned out to be prohibitively expensive, and then later at Skillman Village, which is now being sold to the county.
The park is the perfect site, even better than the original, said Mr. Dyer.
Early in the process, they had to define “times of war.” For this, they sought the insight of the Department of Veterans Affairs for New Jersey. Secondly, in an attempt to be inclusive rather than exclusive, they began an extensive research effort to find the names of all the people from Montgomery, beginning with the French and Indian War.
The first war in which Montgomery residents served was the Revolutionary War. After an extensive research endeavor, about 900 people have been identified and their names will be engraved on the columns. Stars will be engraved next to the names of those who gave their lives.
The project is set to be completed by the end of the summer, and they’ve tentatively scheduled a formal dedication for Veterans Day in November.
The public groundbreaking ceremony will be held today at 5 p.m. in Montgomery Park, Harlingen Road. After the groundbreaking ceremony there will also be a benefit reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Princeton Elks Lodge, 354 Route 518 in Blawenburg. The event will be catered with cash bar and 50/50 raffle. The Blawenburg Dixieland Band will be performing. The requested donation is $20 per person, or $50 for a family of three or more. Tickets will be available at the door.

