Sacrifices remembered

FORT RECOVERY - One of the most celebrated monuments in the area has a new addition.

Monument Park now is joined by the Fort Recovery Veterans Plaza, paying tribute to local veterans of the past, present and future. The 35-foot-by-70-foot plaza is complete and will be dedicated at 2 p.m. on Patriots' Day, Sept. 11.

The plaza complements the 101-foot obelisk, built to honor those lost in the first two battles at Fort Recovery, in 1791 and in 1794. The new plaza extended that field of honor to all servicemen and women.

"I've heard a lot of positive comments about it," said Don Link, Fort Recovery American Legion commander and membership chairman. "It really is beautiful."

"It is a welcome and fitting tribute," said Nancy Knapke, Fort Recovery State Museum director. "It shows what can be done when a group of people get together for a specific and honoring purpose."

Ken Romer lives near the site and has volunteered countless hours in planning, designing and building the plaza. He said the planning commitee began meeting in August 2015. The original intention was to have the plaza ready for the village's 225th anniversary celebration this past June.

"We had this pretty much put in place, with the exception of our centerpiece, and also they did not have the bronze plaque for Fort Recovery," he said.

Part of the issue was the project's popularity in the village, Romer said. The design had to be changed repeatedly to make room for the increasing number of veterans' names.

"We're up to around 1,420 names at the present time, considering when we started this project we figured we'd have maybe 500 or 600 names," he said. "Consequently we had to go through about six different plans before we were finally able to come up with this one, which was agreeable with Ohio History Connection. We have additional panels here for 875 (more) names."

In all, 144 panels encircle the plaza - 77 on the inside of the semi-circle and another 77 on the outside with graphics depicting historic times in American wars, including the battles at Fort Recovery.

"You can't really get the full brunt of it by just driving by," Romer said.

Among the honorees is Fort Recovery's first settler, Samuel McDowell, who survived both the 1791 and 1794 battles and was granted 20 acres north of town, on which he settled. Two local survivors of the Bataan Death March also are honored on the panels, as is Calvin Scott Sr., who was present for the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima during World War II.

The dedication ceremony will include several local politicians, including State Sen. Keith Faber, State Rep. Jim Buchy and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer

Bands will play; Norb Schlecty of the Thien Snipps will perform a song he wrote for the occasion; and Jay County, Ind., Veterans Administration Officer Cliff Moser will be the guest speaker. Moser is a survivor of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Link reminded those planning to attend to bring their own lawn chairs.

The plaza has attracted plenty of attention since its construction began, Romer said.

"We've had a lot of very, very positive comments," he added. "We've had a number of people say that this is Washington, D.C.-quality, with our brushed stainless-steel panels and the nine granite piers."

Romer noted the monument is lit at night with 28 LED lights focused on the panels. The project has been fully paid through donations and volunteer labor. Any additional donations received will be set aside for future maintenance.

"The thing that was great about the plaza is the workers all volunteered their labor, he said. "It was built with volunteer labor and donations. There wasn't one tax dollar involved here. I told my wife I was really looking forward to getting involved in a meaningful project, and I think I reached my goal. Just to see the people coming over here on a continuous basis, day and night, and they're in here walking around and looking. It's heartwarming. It's very rewarding."