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Committee
Approves Design for Veterans Memorial
This article
was published in
The Middletown (Ohio) Journal on March 25, 2004
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by Craig J. Heimbuch
Journal Staff Writer
The Middletown-area Veterans Memorial Committee gave its
approval Tuesday to a design for a memorial that will be
unveiled in Woodside Cemetery July 4.
The memorial was designed by New York-based artist Mort
Künstler, who is known throughout the country for his
military-themed artwork, particularly his paintings of the
Civil War.
Künstler, who has never been involved with a veterans
memorial, said he was excited to be a part of the process
of putting more than 100 of his paintings into stone.
"Every artist loves the thought of their work living
on," Künstler said Tuesday from his Oyster Bay,
NY office. "This has been a great thrill and an honor
for me."
Künstler said he plans to attend the unveiling of
the granite monument on the Fourth of July.
The committee voted unanimously Tuesday evening to approve
Künstler's design, with the caveat that, if possible,
an image of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor be included.
For the memorial, Künstler said he created nine new
images - three of the Middletown-area Medal of Honor winners
and another of a Civil War general - and combined them with
roughly 100 others collected throughout his 50-plus year
career.
"The goal was to represent everyone who served fairly,"
he said.
Twelfth District Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Valen,
the chairman of the committee, said the dream of constructing
a memorial to veterans has been a long time in coming to
fruition.
"A few of us veterans used to meet in smoke-filled
rooms to talk about this a year and a half before we ever
had a committee," Valen said. "This has been a
long, hard process."
But, he said, when the memorial is dedicated, it will all
be worth it.
Volunteers have raised more than $160,000 for the memorial,
but Valen and other members of the committee estimate that
another $25,000 is needed for its completion.
Donations can be made to the Middletown Community Foundation,
with a note saying that it is a contribution for Veterans
Memorial, at Veterans Memorial, P.O. Box 853, Middletown,
OH 45042. More information is available by calling (513)
422-4973.
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