Stafford County will create a place to honor its residents who served and died in war.
The Silver Companies donated $100,000 to the effort to construct an Armed Services Memorial at the Stafford Government Center. The donation brought the fundraising campaign more than 70 percent to its $675,000 goal of fully funding the memorial.
“It allows us to go ahead to have those ceremonies, to have those special events, and even for the good government workers in the Gordon Building [Stafford government center] who serve us so well in Stafford County, a great place for them to have lunch,” said Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, USMC (Ret.), who serves on the memorial commission. “For us, it will be a wonderful place to take your children and grand kids, to sit back and recognize service and sacrifice and recognize those who took the time to serve to make our country is the great country it is today.”
Atlantic Builders also donated $25,000 to the memorial. The company will sponsor a flag pole that will be erected at the memorial site.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors initiated the memorial project appropriated $225,000 to the cause.
“An initiative of the Stafford Board of Supervisors, the memorial grew out of a request from grieving parents who wanted to honor their son, Marine Corps Sergeant Donald James Lamar, II, who was killed in fighting in Afghanistan. The Board decided to create a memorial to honor all who have served, going back to the Revolutionary War.”
“The Board appointed three citizens to serve on the Armed Services Commission: Lt. Gen. Ron Christmas, USMC (Ret.); Delegate Mark Dudenhefer; and Supervisor Gary Snellings, Hartwood District.”
The memorial commission tapped the talents of area high school students to design the memorial.
“The commission held a memorial design contest in 2013 among Stafford’s high schools as a way to draw in the future of Stafford County. Five designs were selected as finalists. Elements of the students’ designs were incorporated into the final design of the memorial. Three of the finalists attended the breakfast this morning: Aaron Brown attended North Stafford High School and is now a student at Virginia Tech; Abriel Maldonado attended Brooke Point High School and is now a student at James Madison University; and Donald Kelley, III, attended Stafford High School and is now an employee of Dominion Virginia Power.”
The winning designers, public officials, members of the memorial commission, and Larry D. Silver of the Silver Companies gathered at a special ceremony at the Stafford Regional Airport on May 26 to announce the Silver Companies $100,000 donation.
