Wall to honor those who serve

Grovetown Mayor Dennis Trudeau will soon see his name inscribed on a city memorial alongside 800 other military service men and women.

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The names will be carved in stone - granite panels that will soon be installed into a serpentine wall that will serve as a memorial to active military personnel and veterans.

"They are engraving the panels right now," Trudeau said of the granite panels that were sent to McCannon Granite Co. in Elberton, Ga., about a month ago.

The Memorial Wall, which is nearly complete, will be the centerpiece of a city park honoring the large military presence in Grovetown. The double-sided serpentine wall will be inscribed with names of service men and women under the logo of the branch in which the person served.

Trudeau said the Memorial Wall will be dedicated on Memorial Day, May 28, in conjunction with the city's Heritage Festival on May 26. Construction began on the $120,000 project last fall.

"It is going to be nice," Trudeau said.

The city solicited names of any military veteran or active personnel who now lives in Columbia County or did while in the armed forces. Trudeau said serving during a time of war or conflict is not a requirement.

"We've got about 800 names," Trudeau said, adding that he expects the engraved panels to be installed by the end of March. "We've got almost 350 Civil War names from the 48th Georgia Brigade."

Trudeau said there are names to go under each of the five military branches.

The park is located at the corner of Old Wrightsboro Road and East Robinson Avenue between the Grovetown Museum and the gazebo. A Howitzer cannon is already on display.

The wall will be surrounded by commemorative stone pavers and will be connected by short walkways to the picnic shelter, gazebo and city hall parking lot. Trudeau said he hopes the custom-engraved pavers, purchased for $40 each, will be laid around the wall by mid-March.

New names will be added possibly twice a year, Trudeau said. Forms to have a military service person's name added to the wall are available from city hall at 103 Old Wrightsboro Road.

"They won't be put on with this first go around," Trudeau said. "The new names would be put up in December, depending on how many we get. They can still pick up the forms and when we get enough to complete a panel, we'll put them on."

For more information, call city hall at (706) 863-4576.