Progress continues at Tribute to Veterans Memorial as organizers aim for a 2018 opening.The memorial is under construction on Veterans Memorial Parkway just west of Highway 47 in Warrenton. It will honor servicemen and -women who lost their lives during wartime. It also will honor Gold Star families with a bronze statue of a woman and child at a cross.On May 5, 17 memorial committee members and volunteers met at the site to work on landscaping projects.For committee member Rick Mantione, it’s rewarding to see the physical aspects of the project coming together.“It’s bittersweet, because if you look around here, we have people from all across the community who have been working on this for years,” said Mantione. “They’ve worked really hard, and there’s no quit in them.”The committee is in its eighth year of a rigorous fundraising, design and building process. It has seen its most progress in the past two years, with more donations coming in. Part of the fundraising was through the sales of personalized pavers that will make up the walkway surrounding the memorial.“We sold 1,005 pavers out of the 1,500 we had, and we felt really good about it,” said Mantione. “For a small community, I felt that was really good. We’ve had contributors from all over the country.”He quickly mentioned five states that were involved, among others. It hasn’t just been a local effort, as people from across the nation seek to add to the Purple Heart Trail along Interstate 70.“The building committee is running with the ball now,” said Mantione. “They have a meeting to consolidate all he contractors to make a time frame. The one problem we’re having right now is the wall we thought would come in the second week of June is probably going to be more like the latter part of August.”Mantione says the delay is out of the hands of the committee, while proofs and changes are made to the wall, including the addition of a presidential quote. In the meantime the committee will focus on the areas will it can make progress.“Everything is ready to go except for the wall, so when the wall comes in, it’ll all come together very quickly,” said Mantione. “We’re going to work on landscaping as much as possible and get everything ready.”

Seventeen volunteers showed up to help with landscaping projects Saturday, May 5, at the Tribute to Veterans Memorial site. The memorial, which has been a community effort, is expected to open this year. 

Record photo/Derrick Forsythe

Rick Mantione, front, was among the volunteers at the site of the Tribute to Veterans Memorial on May 5. The memorial, under construction, is on Veterans Memorial Parkway in Warrenton. Mantione is part of the memorial's planning committee. 

Record photo/Derrick Forsythe