Vets memorial in critical need of funds

The group that spearheaded the veterans memorial in downtown Kalispell needs help to pay back money borrowed to construct the granite and bronze statue of a kneeling soldier.

“We still need about $35,000,” said Chuck Olson, who founded the project with Jack Heller.

Their effort to bring a memorial back to Veterans Park (Depot Park) began in 2006 with a goal of raising $250,000. They wanted a memorial to replace the doughboy that had been removed in the 1970s during a road construction project and later placed at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls.

“It ended up costing $350,000,” Olson said.

He said that maintenance costs about $3,000 annually to get the tree sap and grime removed and the weeds controlled between the memorial bricks on paths around the monument.

Even though they fell short of raising the total, the organizers forged ahead to get the memorial in place and dedicated on July 4, 2007. Since then, they continued working to raise money by offering limited-edition replica bronzes for $2,200 as well as inscribed bricks ranging from $110 to $210.

“The bricks are just a place to remember or honor someone,” Olson said. “You don’t have to be a vet. Anyone can buy a brick and put any inscription on it.”

As an example, he said people might buy a brick in honor of a child’s birth. Some donors have purchased bricks to honor a person, family member, veteran or deceased veteran. Donations of any size are welcome.

Since it began, the veterans memorial has been a private communitywide effort.

“There are not any taxpayer dollars in it,” Olson said.

The late artist C.A. Grende created the bronze of a combat soldier kneeling in front of a comrade’s hastily dug grave with his gun, bayonet stuck in the ground, marking the site. The deceased soldier’s helmet and dog tags rest on the butt of the gun behind his empty combat boots.

The base was designed large enough to include all the names of Flathead County servicemen who died defending the nation, leaving room for future names such as Nick Cook of Hungry Horse, a soldier who just made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for his country.

A highlight of the memorial is the etched inscription, “We will never forget!”

According to Olson, the community has given a very positive response to the memorial.

“It gets used by vet groups all the time,” he said. “There are people there wandering around it and looking at it all the time.”

People interested in making a donation, buying a brick or limited-edition statue to help pay off the debt for the veterans memorial may contact Olson at 751-2911 or 253-1000.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com