Sandusky Co. gets donation for a veterans monument

11/14/2006

FREMONT - A project to erect a memorial dedicated to Sandusky County veterans received a major donation this weekend, bringing its spring groundbreaking goal a little closer.

Lee Swartz, a Vietnam War veteran, said Time-Warner Cable Inc. donated $40,000 for the memorial that is planned across the courthouse at Flag Park.

Mr. Swartz initially had a $60,000 goal, but revisions to those plans in light of the fund-raising success could push the cost up to $80,000.

Part of the success is attributed to an auction and the sale of engraved paver bricks. Sales of the bricks will end Jan. 1.

At the memorial's base will be 900 bricks that supporters can buy for $100 and have inscribed.

The idea for the memorial arose during a 2004 visit to a veterans memorial in the Sandusky County village of Gibsonburg.

Mr. Swartz realized that the county has a plaque for Vietnam veterans but no single memorial to honor all service members. In addition to the major wars, service members who were involved in smaller conflicts such as Kosovo or Panama also should be remembered, he said.