The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Park honoring veterans required years of work

Dedication will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8 at Deerfield Honors Veterans Park at Cottell Park.

Bobby Carter kneels by the paver bricks for himself and his son, Robert G. Carter, at Deerfield Twp.'s new veterans' park on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Carter, a former township trustee, first proposed the idea for such a park in 1998. Deerfield Honors Veterans Park is located in Cottell Park and will be dedicated Sunday, Nov. 8.

Photo by David A. Moodie, contributing photographer Bobby Carter kneels by the paver bricks for himself and his son, Robert G. Carter, at Deerfield Twp.'s new veterans' park on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Carter, a former township trustee, first proposed the idea for such a park in 1998. Deerfield Honors Veterans Park is located in Cottell Park and will be dedicated Sunday, Nov. 8.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Deerfield Honors Veterans President Bruce Chapman on Tuesday, Nov. 3, stands in front of a statue of a soldier that is part of the new Deerfield Honors Veterans Park at Cottell Park in Deerfield Twp. A photo taken of Chapman during his tour of duty in Vietnam was the model for the statue. The park will be dedicated Sunday, Nov. 8.

Contributed photo by David A. Moodie Deerfield Honors Veterans President Bruce Chapman on Tuesday, Nov. 3, stands in front of a statue of a soldier that is part of the new Deerfield Honors Veterans Park at Cottell Park in Deerfield Twp. A photo taken of Chapman during his tour of duty in Vietnam was the model for the statue. The park will be dedicated Sunday, Nov. 8.

ENLARGE PHOTO

State jobless rate jumps to 10.5 percent
11/20/09
Child injured in Ohio 741 accident
11/20/09
Mayor against Waynesville income tax
11/20/09
'Homesick bandit' given four years in jail for robbery
11/20/09
Lanes to close as traffic shifted on Interstate 75
11/20/09
> More headlines

By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer Updated 11:45 AM Thursday, November 5, 2009

Deerfield Twp. is scheduled to dedicate a park whose conception stretches back more than a decade.

It was 1998 when then-trustee Bobby Carter first proposed a place that would pay tribute to U.S. military veterans past, present and future.

“I was taught to respect our veterans and they should be honored more than they have been,” Carter said. “Our young people should be educated to what veterans mean and what they’ve done for our country.”

Deerfield Honors Veterans Park officially opens during a 2 p.m. dedication ceremony Sunday, Nov. 8, at Cottell Park, on the corner of Irwin-Simpson and Snider roads.

Carter, who became a special projects coordinator for the township, refloated the idea in June 2002 and then-trustee Bill Morand revived the project.

“Freedom’s not free,” Morand said. “A lot of people have come before us to make this country what it is and a lot of people died protecting it and that’s a worthy cause and deserves recognition.”

Morand said funding was the biggest obstacle that nonprofit public-supported corporation  Deerfield Honors Veterans Inc. faced when making the $500,000 project a reality, but numerous companies and individuals stepped up to contribute.

Morand praised township trustees for using $250,000 in tax increment financing revenue to help “push the project over the top.”

Bruce Chapman, the committee’s president, said the park is meant to transcend the typical war memorial.

“We wanted to be more of a place where people could visit and teach children about the military,” he said. “This is a place where children can walk through and ask their mom or dad 'What does this all mean?’"

Chapman said at one point the only income coming in to help fund the park other than company donations was revenue garnered from the sale of commemorative paver bricks.

The event features emcee Cammy Dierking from WKRC Local 12, a keynote speaker from the U.S. Army, the UC Color Guard, music and a ceremony. A 250-pound custom-casted bell will chime 56 times — once for each local fallen soldier.

Brick pavers that will be used in a Walk of Honor are available for donations of various increments starting at $36.

To purchase a paver brick, call (513) 678-0112 or visit www.deerfieldhonorsveterans.org.

Share this article