Land donated for Bollinger County veterans memorial

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County veterans memorial, planned by Sonny Freeman of Marble Hill, will be built on a lot in Marble Hill in front of the Presbyterian Church, according to Freeman.

Freeman said Lloyd and Debi Ivey of Marble Hill donated the land, which he said will be a perfect spot to create a parklike atmosphere for the memorial with picnic tables and trees for the community to enjoy as they remember friends and family members who served in the armed forces.

Freeman has taken his idea for a countywide veterans memorial and formed a committee to see his dream completed. The plans are to build a new veterans memorial for Bollinger County.

In 2007, Freeman said memorials were spread throughout the county.

"We have people spread out in rural areas, and it's easy to see how those people feel like they're on their own in our county."

Freeman said his plan would create a way for each area of the county to become involved in the concept-to-completion process of building and maintaining a countywide memorial that would include a complete list of every Bollinger county veteran who had served in the armed forces.

The committee began collecting names of county veterans before Veterans Day and Freeman, along with the committee, has now compiled a list of hundreds of names. The names include veterans from as far back as the Civil War.

"We want to include everyone who wore a uniform for their country, no matter if they fought for the North or the South in the Civil War, everyone who sacrificed should be remembered," Freeman said.

Freeman said the committee could use volunteers to help sort name lists of veterans, as well as donations. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 398, Marble Hill, Mo., 63764.

For more information, contact Freeman at 573-238-2172 or chasfreeman@att.net.