A salute to veterans of World War II is coming, and although more than 50 percent of the funding for the memorial is still being sought, veterans’ groups are confident the dream will be realized by 2016.
The monument to the war that stopped Hitler and took 405,000 American lives will be built at Veterans Memorial Park, 3602 U.S. 301 N. in Tampa.
“It will really be a pinnacle memorial in the park,” said Dave Braun, co-chairman of the Veterans Museum and Park.
The group has raised $102,000 for the project. “We need another $100,000 easily, but we are going to build with what we have,” Braun said. “The money we do not have is not going to stop us from building.”
Braun has been either chair or co-chair at the park for 19 years. A further $50,000 to $60,000 will be needed to finish the project.
Establishing the Veterans’ Freedom Memorial, a striking white marble column dedicated in 1997 that honors all veterans, past, present and future, is among the highlights of Braun’s almost two decades at the park. Aside from all the memorials at the park, Operation Field of Honor (started in 2005) is also special for Braun.
“John Lynch of Flags Unlimited wanted to put down a flag for every soldier that died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, almost 3,000 flags,” Braun said. The event has since morphed into the official county memorial to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom soldiers.
While the World War II memorial is expected to draw thousands of visitors annually, it is far from the only memorial at the park or the most expensive structure.
Hundreds of Hillsborough veterans paid the ultimate price to stop the failed Austrian paperhanger/sociopath — 365 at last count, according to local veterans’ groups — taking over much of the planet. Some estimates of the death toll before, during and after the war reached 80 million when postwar deaths due to disease and starvation were factored in.
Thousands of other local veterans who survived World War II also live in the Bay area, home to the largest veteran population in Florida, according to veterans’ groups.
The master plan for the park includes 20 memorial sites and a new 20,000-square-foot county facility to support various veterans’ activities. The tentatively named “Veterans Resource Center” will be the park’s most expensive structure, costing between $4 million and $7 million.
Once complete, the park will honor every fallen soldier from Hillsborough County since 1834, the year the county was founded.
“That starts off with the Seminole War, the Mexican American War, and the Civil War and all the way up to America’s most recent conflicts,” Braun said. “Those who served in operations in Grenada and Nicaragua are also honored with memorials.
“There’s also the MIA/Prisoner of War memorial — which I think the public will find stunning,” Braun said, “and the World War I memorial. We are just on a real roll at the park.”
The World War II memorial, expected to top out at $250,000 or more when the dust settles, is expected to be dedicated by Dec. 7, 2016, the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that spurred American involvement in the first real global conflict.
Memorial bricks are available for purchase that will help fund the memorial.
For more information about the World War II memorial or other memorials at the park and how you can help, call Braun at 813-310-8513. A team from the park will gladly attend any civic or church group meeting to promote the project.
