A local organization, Heroes of Mesquite is making sure the men and women who have served in the military will have a place to be remembered.
The City of Mesquite does not have a standing memorial, but now there is a plan to build one at Town East Park.
The vision for the memorial will have four walls, one each for the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy. The Coast Guard will be part of the Navy wall. There will also be a star inside the memorial, to honor those men and women who died in the line of duty.
For Mesquite resident Billie Clark, whose son was killed in action in 2009, the memorial will help others remember his sacrifice. "I think about him everyday, every day,” said Clark. “There's not a day that goes by that I don't."
Her son, Sergeant First Class Raymond Munden was killed in the Paktika Province in Afghanistan after a rocket attack hit his base—the Forward Operating Base Tillman.
"It would give me a place to go feel closer to him, I mean I feel him here (in her heart), but he was cremated and I don't have a grave site to put flowers on,” said Clark. “And I could bring flowers to put on his name.”
Randy Lawson from Heroes of Mesquite has made it his mission since 2007 for all veterans that have ties to Mesquite to have a physical memorial. "We as Americans, we're the greatest country in the world and we should honor those who have given the sacrifice in some way and this is our way of doing it,” said Lawson.
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The City of Mesquite donated land at Town East Park and a local architect designed the memorial for free. The group says it will cost about $700,000 to finish the project.
"It's appalling and I understand we have a bad economy,” said Vietnam Veteran Thomas Latham. “But we're having great difficulty raising funds to do this and I think everyone needs to dig a little deep and forget that hamburger for lunch."
There are various ways to participate in the project. For more on how to donate, contact Heroes of Mesquite at 972-222-8644 or visit their Website at www.heroesofmesquite.com
