Crews at work in mid-August engraving the names of another 153 veterans on the Memorial Wall at the Fremont County Airport
The Fremont County Veterans Service Office will host a special ceremony on Saturday morning, September 28th to dedicate the latest addition of names of veterans which have been engraved on the brick wall at the Fremont County Airport’s War Memorial Park. The names of 153 veterans were engraved in mid-August by a work crew from Denver.
Fremont County Veterans Service Officer Al Augustine said the 153 names turned out to be the largest engraving order taken by the Veterans Service Office since the Memorial Wall was first erected about 18 years ago. He said the engraving of the bricks was originally intended to be completed last spring so the dedication could take place by Memorial Day. But because there were so many names to be engraved, the work crew needed ideal weather conditions to complete the engravings in a single day. Wind, dust, heat, and then summer rains in July and early August postponed the work until just a few weeks ago.
The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on September 28th when the Cañon City High School Jr. R.O.T.C. will post the colors. Colorado American Legion Past State Commander Tim Grabin of Cañon City will deliver special remarks for the ceremony noting particular sacrifices made by some of the local veterans whose names are inscribed on the wall. American Legion Post 13 Chaplain David Burrous will offer the invocation and benediction.
Augustine along with retired Fremont County Veterans Service Officer Betty Hanawalt will read the list of veterans’ names newly engraved on the wall. The ceremony will also include the dedication of a new permanent outdoor sound system installed by the Fremont County Commissioners last spring at the War Memorial Park.
The War Memorial Park ceremony coincides with an air show that also begins at 10 a.m. September 28th as part of a Fremont County Airport Fly-in and Open House.