Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Chuck Witt

This piece originally appeared on wincityvoices.org.

The proposed Korea/WWII memorial in downtown Winchester to honor Clark Countians who gave their lives in service to their country has surpassed an important milestone. As of this writing, $134,114 of the $250,000 target funding amount has been secured. 

On March 20th the Clark County Veterans Council was notified that it was the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, putting the fundraising efforts above the halfway mark.

The Council had also applied for a T‑Mobile grant of $50,000, but that grant was not approved.

Fundraising efforts continue through the sale of memorial bricks, which can be purchased for $100. The engraved bricks do not have to be for a family veteran but can honor any individual or organization.

As part of the memorial design bronzed plaques will be placed honoring donors. Those plaques will establish the following categories:

• Four Star plaque for donors of $10,000 or more
• Three Star plaque for donors of $5,000
• Two Star plaque for donors of $2,500
• One Star plaque for donations of $1,000

The Harold Glen Epperson MOH Detachment 1113 of the Marine Corps League has donated $5,000 to the project, and an anonymous donor has pledged to purchase the flagpole, which is estimated to cost $6,500.

The memorial will contain six benches that can be designated by donors for $2,500. Each donor bench will contain the name of the donor, whose name will also be placed on one of the donor plaques.

Donations can be sent to the following address.

Clark County Veterans Council

P.O. Box 426

Winchester, KY 40392–0426

For additional information, please call Chuck Witt at (859) 513‑3667 or Dianna Layne at (859) 355‑1067. Also, visit our website at https://www.clarkcountywarmemorial.org/.