Navy monument to be created for National Cemetery

A project to build a monument to honor United States Navy veterans, which is several years in the making, is moving along to the next phase.

The idea for a project to design and build a monument honoring Southeast Kansas Navy veterans, which would eventually be placed at the Fort Scott National Cemetery, came about in 2008 with members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1165 honor guard, according to Daryl Roller, a U.S. Navy veteran formerly of Fort Scott.

The granite monument will include a U.S. Navy stockless anchor and chain and located inside the Monument Circle at the cemetery.

Roller said it will "honor the service and sacrifice of the many sailors and Navy airmen buried there, as well as those to be interred in future years."

When the VA expanded the cemetery in the 1990s, there was a circle inside the south entrance dedicated to the establishment of monuments and commemorative works to honor servicemen. The first monument, the Combat Infantrymen's Association monument, inspired Roller and other Navy veterans to donate a monument to honor the U.S. Navy. The veterans wanted the project to be "something special," and had to include a "real Navy stockless anchor," according to submitted information.

In May, the monument project finally received approval from the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, Roller said.

"We had a lot of back and forth with the government on the project," Roller said. "We had to make sure our T's were crossed and our I's dotted. Then we got the 'yes.'"

A letter to Roller from Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves states, "I am pleased to inform you that the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration accepts the proposed U.S. Navy Veterans Memorial Monument donation to Fort Scott National Cemetery. It is our honor to have a partnership with Olson-Frary-Burkhart Post 1165."

Because the VA must maintain all monuments into perpetuity, there is a lengthy approval process that must be conducted by the Veterans Administration before any monument or commemorative work can be accepted and built.

In 2010, Roller retired and moved from Fort Scott to Lenexa. While he still wanted to complete the project, he got sidetracked with the move and the search for an appropriate anchor for the project.

During this time, Jeanne Long Brooks (Shotton), an artist formerly of Fort Scott, took a job with Microsoft and moved to Washington.

"Jeanne found the anchor in Astoria, Oregon," Roller said. "It was picked up and brought to Fort Scott."

Roller said the anchor and chain for the monument are currently at Geneva & Son Monument Co., in Fort Scott prior to being cleaned and painted for assembly of the monument, which will be erected and dedicated at the monument circle inside the cemetery.

Brooks said she was commissioned as an artist to create the design for the monument while she was still living and working in Kansas. She also helped locate the real Navy stockless anchor to be used for the project, and had the anchor shipped to Kansas. The chain for the monument was donated by Anchor Marine in Houston, Texas.

Brooks is the daughter of a career Navy Chief Petty Officer and has several family members who served in the Navy. Her father and grandfather are buried in the Fort Scott National Cemetery.

"I was raised on a Navy base my whole life," she said. "My dad and brothers were master chiefs in the Navy. I expressed an interest in helping. I wanted something that really represented the Navy."

Brooks designed a black granite monument with anchor and chain mounted on top. The first donor to the veterans' project was the late Charles Klenklen, a U.S. Army veteran who spearheaded the Combat Infantrymen's Association monument, which was built in 2003.

"I wanted to do something a little more iconic and use a real ship's anchor, for folks who've never seen a real Navy anchor," she said. "It's an iconic logo for the Navy. When you lift anchor, you're leaving and when you set anchor, you're home."

"It also had to be designed to fit the base," she said.

Brooks started by contacting the Secretary of the Navy, then visited a variety of decommissioned shipyards in hopes of locating the right anchor. She said there was difficulty validating some ships as Navy ships.

"Most, if not all of the metal that comes off their ships is sold or for repurposing in the ships," she said. "We couldn't find a real Navy anchor. But I didn't give up hope."

In November 2015, the first proposal for the monument project was submitted to the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs National Cemetery Association. Two months prior, Brooks had found a stockless anchor in Astoria, Oregon. The owner was willing to donate the anchor if it could be picked up. While he wanted to travel to Oregon to pick it up, Roller said he decided to have the anchor shipped to Fort Scott.

"I was told it was from a U.S. Navy Liberty ship from World War II," Brooks said. "I thought that was perfect."

Brooks said the anchor had been used by a company in Astoria to weigh down the barge in the Columbia River, and also "to hold things in place for salvage."

"We approached them about letting us buy it, then we offered to buy a new one and trade," she said. "They ended up donating it to the Fort Scott Navy veterans."

For the project to get approval, there must also be a plan for ongoing maintenance, such as painting and cleaning of the monument.

"It's part of the commitment to the U.S. cemetery," Brooks said.

"This was very important to me," she said. "I'm not a Navy veteran, but my family is and there's no way for me to be buried where my family is buried. So this was my little contribution to my family's five generations of military service."

Roller and a committee through the Olson-Frary-Burkhart VFW Post No. 1165, a tax-deductible entity, are leading a fundraising effort for the project. Local Navy veteran Bill Hall is working with some local sailors and veterans in Fort Scott to solicit donations, Roller said.

"I think it will be a wonderful contribution to the National Cemetery, to honor all Navy veterans and personnel, past and present," Hall said. "I'm anxious to see it completed."

The total cost for the project, including a fund for ongoing maintenance is about $6,000, of which $1,400 has been raised to date. Roller said he has been waiting for final approval from the VA before making a public announcement of the project and starting to raise funds. Ownership of the memorial would be passed to the U.S. government.

"All the money raised will go toward the monument," he said.

Once funds are secured and the monument is ordered and installed, a dedication ceremony will take place. The names of donors, as well as the names of those who donors wish to honor or memorialize through their donations will be put in a book held by the local VFW post.

Roller and the committee are seeking donations from area service organizations, veterans who have served and area family members who want to memorialize or honor a loved one or friend.

Hall said donations from any branch of the military will be welcomed.

Roller also said he hopes the project will spur some other projects in the Monument Circle at the cemetery, such as a memorial walk and possibly proposals to honor other military branches.

Roller served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1970. He was assigned to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 in Alameda, Calif., and made two cruises to Vietnam aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, CVA-65. The U.S. Navy continues to be an important part of Roller's life. He visits and vacations with several sailors with whom he served.

He was the keynote speaker for Memorial Day ceremonies in May at the cemetery. He and his family moved to Lenexa in 2010.

For more information on the project, Roller can be contacted at (913) 322-6492, or by email at dcroller@yahoo.com.