Work on Veterans Memorial Plaza continues as Veterans Day approaches

It may not be the ceremony he wanted for Veterans Day this year, said David Cantrell with VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau, but he won't let that stop him.

The Avenue of Flags still will be up in Cape County Park North on the drive to the future Veterans Memorial Plaza, he said, and though the Plaza isn't finished, much of the work is done.

Freedom Rock, a large boulder with a mural painted on, is complete, Cantrell said, and a permanent flag for each service represented is in place.

The Heroes Wall, which will have 640 names carved into it and a dedication for the Avenue of Flags, is under construction.

The concrete wall in place will have a granite facing, carved with the names of fallen veterans who lived in Cape Girardeau County and fought in foreign wars, Cantrell said.

Newly erected flags for each branch of the military blow in the wind Tuesday at Veterans Plaza in Cape County Park.BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews

"That's really the last piece of our plaza," Cantrell said.

The VFW also is selling memorial pavers for the foot-wide strip of plaza in front of the wall, he said.

"We have space for 120 of them," he said, and they'll be sold for $1,000 each. The pavers will be engraved to order and coated, then placed before the wall, Cantrell said.

Smaller pavers already have been laid, Cantrell said, but these pavers are bigger -- and special.

There's still some extra finishing work as well, Cantrell said -- some sodding and cutting some holes for flagpoles for the Avenue of Flags memorial.

A concrete block rests against a wall Tuesday at Veterans Plaza in Cape County Park North in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

The parking lot also needs to be finished, he said.

But the county parks department works hard to finish projects across the county, Cantrell said.

"The county's very lucky. I have a great deal of respect for them," he said by phone Tuesday.

A re-dedication ceremony and celebration is planned for Veterans Day 2018, Cantrell said, to do the celebration justice.

The Joint Veterans Council and Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy are working with him, Cantrell said.

A concrete block rests against a wall Tuesday at Veterans Plaza in Cape County Park North in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"Cape County is honored to partner with the VFW to recognize our local heroes who have worn the cloth of our great nation and answered the call to duty," Tracy said in a text message Tuesday.

It's not only military service members who will be honored by the plaza, Cantrell said.

Civilian orders such as the police and other organizations are represented, too.

For the Avenue of Flags, which is scheduled for Veterans Day, Cantrell said, 15 new flags are going up this year.

"It's kind of an emotional deal," Cantrell said of the new flag installation. "It really takes people by surprise, how emotional it is. I just want to remind them that as long as this memorial plaza is here, veterans will be remembered.

Newly erected flags for each branch of the military blow in the wind Tuesday at Veterans Plaza in Cape County Park North in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"Now it will be every day, not just the five times a year we do the Avenue," Cantrell added. "To me, they're heroes, and that's what they deserve."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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