The letters G-O-D have been removed to have thousands of pennies applied representing all the soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. Citizens have responded angrily questioning if the missing letters are part of a larger scheme to remove the word GOD from the War Memorial Display
Fremont County Commission Chair Debbie Bell reassured the community today that the letters G-O-D that are absent from the “In God We Trust” display at the Fremont County War Memorial Park are only missing temporarily due to the fabrication process. Bell said that the Commissioners and the Fremont County Airport Office have been inundated with phone calls and questions from concerned citizens expressing outage that perhaps someone forced the removal of the word GOD from the display. Bell said part of the fabrication process is that the War Memorial Park Committee is attaching thousands of pennies to each large letter with each penny representing an American soldier who died in the Vietnam War.
Fremont County Airport Manager Richard Baker told the Commissioners this week that he has been getting an average of four inquiries daily since the G-O-D letters were removed to have the pennies attached. Baker related that one tourist from Alabama stopped recently and went on a tirade about the missing letters. Baker said the man was still angry even after receiving an explanation. The War Memorial Park Committee has informed the Commissioners that the fabrication work is nearly complete and the G-O-D letters should be back in place in a matter of days.
District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden noted that the attention paid to the missing letters provides the county with an opportunity to make another appeal for more pennies. Norden said that project Co-Chairman Dennis Withers reports that the committee still needs another 300 pennies dated 1966, and another 4,000 pennies each from the years of 1967 and 1968. Anyone who has pennies with those dates can drop them in the donation box located at the Fremont County Clerk’s Office.
War Memorial Committee members Mike Drake and Dennis Withers at work earlier this year preparing the "In God We Trust" display and the eventual plan to attach pennies to each letter