Vets Find A Special Place In Herkimer County Veterans Memorial Park
By: Rachel Polansky
Updated: November 13, 2012
On Veterans Day, many people thank those who have served our country.
But one group of men wants to make sure area vets will always be
remembered. Eyewitness News visits Veterans Memorial Park at Herkimer
County Community College.
Some say the Veterans Memorial Park serves as a sanctuary - a place to sit and reflect. Upon entering, visitors come face-to-face with a black granite monument etched with several hundred names, all men and women from Herkimer County who have served our country.
"My wife, my son, my grandkids, they're all very proud to see my name. I believe that people who have names on the wall; they come up here and get closure when they look at it," says Herbert Ruff, World War II veteran.
"Everyone of them all the way around shook our hands and said thank you, thank you, thank you and just it gets you right here," says Robert Spellicy, World War II veteran.
Herbert Ruff and Robert Spellicy both served in World War II and they say some people visit the Memorial Wall every Veterans Day.
"It's a reminder of my time in the service and of all the others veterans that are here," says Ruff.
"If mothers, brothers, fathers of the deceased now; they can go over there and see people on the wall. And people that they've never met but heard of, they can see there name on the wall," says Spellicy.
A black granite monument, four benches, and three flags give people a quiet place to sit and reflect.
"It really takes a special person to be in the military," says Kelly Brown, Veterans Memorial Wall committee member.
"You're with a special class of people and its moving. You can sit there, I've read every name on that wall before when I've sat up there," says Rich Monahan, Vietname Veteran and Commander of American Legion Post 25 in Mohawk.
And Commander Monahan says any Veteran who is or was a Herkimer County resident can have there name etched on the memorial wall.
"Many of the names on there are people men and women around here that are still living," says Monahan.
Those who helped build the park say it's important to honor the dead - but remember the living.
"I think it's important that they know while they're here that we appreciate all they do and have done," says Brown.
"Gone but never forgotten," says Spellicy.
And there's room in the park for many more names and other monuments. If you're interested in getting a veterans name etched on the memorial wall, the cost is $100 dollars. But committee members say they won't turn any Herkimer Veterans away.
For more information, contact the Herkimer County Veterans Service Agency:
(315) 867-1127
109 Mary Street, Suite 1103
Herkimer, NY 13350
Some say the Veterans Memorial Park serves as a sanctuary - a place to sit and reflect. Upon entering, visitors come face-to-face with a black granite monument etched with several hundred names, all men and women from Herkimer County who have served our country.
"My wife, my son, my grandkids, they're all very proud to see my name. I believe that people who have names on the wall; they come up here and get closure when they look at it," says Herbert Ruff, World War II veteran.
"Everyone of them all the way around shook our hands and said thank you, thank you, thank you and just it gets you right here," says Robert Spellicy, World War II veteran.
Herbert Ruff and Robert Spellicy both served in World War II and they say some people visit the Memorial Wall every Veterans Day.
"It's a reminder of my time in the service and of all the others veterans that are here," says Ruff.
"If mothers, brothers, fathers of the deceased now; they can go over there and see people on the wall. And people that they've never met but heard of, they can see there name on the wall," says Spellicy.
A black granite monument, four benches, and three flags give people a quiet place to sit and reflect.
"It really takes a special person to be in the military," says Kelly Brown, Veterans Memorial Wall committee member.
"You're with a special class of people and its moving. You can sit there, I've read every name on that wall before when I've sat up there," says Rich Monahan, Vietname Veteran and Commander of American Legion Post 25 in Mohawk.
And Commander Monahan says any Veteran who is or was a Herkimer County resident can have there name etched on the memorial wall.
"Many of the names on there are people men and women around here that are still living," says Monahan.
Those who helped build the park say it's important to honor the dead - but remember the living.
"I think it's important that they know while they're here that we appreciate all they do and have done," says Brown.
"Gone but never forgotten," says Spellicy.
And there's room in the park for many more names and other monuments. If you're interested in getting a veterans name etched on the memorial wall, the cost is $100 dollars. But committee members say they won't turn any Herkimer Veterans away.
For more information, contact the Herkimer County Veterans Service Agency:
(315) 867-1127
109 Mary Street, Suite 1103
Herkimer, NY 13350
