Harrisburg rebuilding soldiers memorial
HARRISBURG - The city of Harrisburg hopes to have its overhauled veterans memorial area ready to go for Memorial Day, if there's a chance of continuing the city's annual tradition of honoring servicemen and women.
Harrisburg cemetery manager Jacob Palmer said for the last several years, the white crosses at the veterans memorial section of Sunset Lawn Cemetery have been in deteriorating shape.
"They were made out of wood, which means eventually, they're going to wear out," Palmer said. "Several of them had been removed because of their condition."
In the process of researching a more permanent means of replacing them, Palmer learned a lot about the history of the portion of the cemetery sometimes called "Little Arlington" after the national cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Before that, according to old Harrisburg Register clippings, it was known as the "French cemetery."
The memorial originally included 75 markers in honor of Saline County veterans who died in World War I, Palmer said. Originally, it was considered a county memorial, but in time, the city assumed responsibility of the area's upkeep.
"When we started out, we had 63 crosses, and we wondered why we had that number. So, we did some research and found out that there was supposed to be 75, the 75th marker having been placed in the early 1970s.
With the memorial crosses deteriorating, Palmer said the city wanted to restore the area to its original glory, plus expand the number of memorial crosses to reflect the total number of Saline Countians who have died in action.
On this particular morning, Palmer is joined by Korean War veteran Don Cooper, who has been eager to see the new memorial area when it's ready.
Palmer has a thick Manila folder filled with old news clippings and photos. He said during his research, he realized the city's Memorial Day ceremony at the veterans memorial is older than many people realize.
"1931 was the dedication. I think it was June Twenty-Third," Palmer said.
Palmer said the cemetery received steel donated from Date Mining Co. in Harrisburg to make new crosses. He and other city employees, plus Date Mining Co. employees, welded them and then sent them to a company to be powder-coated.
"These are weatherproof now," he said. "They'll last a long time."
Cooper, the Korean War veteran, said he's thrilled with the restoration of the memorial.
"This is just an awesome project," Cooper said. "This is wonderful."