Pillar of Honor Anthem Veterans Memorial

Only in Anthem! Veterans Day is Friday, November 11, and this year is a special one here in Anthem. As usual, it is a day for acknowledging and thanking the dedicated men and women who have given of themselves and their lives for the country. But this year, we will be dedicating our newly finished Anthem Veterans Memorial, five marble-covered pillars of diminishing sizes, designed by artist Renee Palmer-Jones, at 10 a.m., November 11, in Anthem Community Park.[caption id="attachment_426" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Artist\'s rendering of Anthem Veterans Memorial pillars"]http://shortsalesinanthemaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/anthem-veterans-memo-artist-rendrg.jpg">http://shortsalesinanthemaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/anthem-veterans-memo-artist-rendrg-300x171.jpg" alt="" title="anthem-veterans-memo-artist rendrg" width="300" height="171" class="size-medium wp-image-426" />[/caption]Circle of Honor At exactly 11:11 a.m. on 11/11/11, the sun’s rays will shine through the elliptical openings of these pillars and perfectly illuminate a mosaic of the Great Seal of the United States in a Circle of Honor. This illumination will occur every Veterans Day at the same time. The Memorial’s symbolism is fitting. The five pillars represent the five branches of the Armed Forces. The pillars and Great Seal are set in a circle of brick pavers—representing donors—engraved with the names of over 750 veterans. Group Effort Retired Rear Admiral Ron Tucker began the Anthem Veterans Memorial project in 2009, got the endorsement of the Anthem Community Council Directors, and invited Palmer-Jones to design the Memorial. I think you’ll agree that she met and exceeded the challenge to make the abstractions of honor, sacrifice, and patriotism tangible and meaningful for our community. See for yourself on November 11, when all the work that has gone into the memorial’s design—including months of construction at no profit by Haydon Building Corp. and much behind-the-scenes organizing and fundraising—will be rewarded.Awesome Festivities On the day of the event, the keynote speaker will be retired United States Army Major General Louis W. Prentiss, Jr., who resides here in Anthem. Craig Boates, Anthem Community Council President, will be the Master of Ceremony. Music will be provided by the ProMusica Arizona Brass Ensemble. The Musical Theater of Anthem will sing the National Anthem. A two-plane flyover from Luke Air Force Base will top things off nicely. Check out the http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/view_online.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onlineatanthem.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdedication-invitation.pdf">Dedication Invitation. Notable Veterans will perform the dedication:Ray R. Norris, Lieutenant. Colonel (Ret.), United States ArmyChristopher Badilla, Sergeant, Active, National GuardFloyd C. Lewis, Colonel (Ret.), United States Marine CorpsTom Derryberry, Sergeant, United States Marine CorpsWilliam L. Putnam, Rear Admiral (Ret.), United States NavyJoan R. Anson, Hospital Corpsman, United States NavyThomas H. Kirk, Jr., Colonel (Ret.), United States Air ForceBernard W. Pfile, Staff Sergeant, United States Air ForceStephen Goodman, Lieutenant Commander (Ret.), United States Coast GuardJack A. Maltby, Yeoman, United States Coast GuardMany Hearts and Hands The Anthem Veterans Memorial has been a project we here at Coldwell Banker Daisy Mountain and many local businesses have supported and it’ll be great to see the beautiful end result! ValleyCrest Landscape and Maintenance will provide a reception following the ceremony. The dedication and opening ceremony is sponsored by Associated Asset Management (AAM) and PulteGroup, Inc. Click here to see a full list of http://www.onlineatanthem.com/anthem-veterans-memorial-friends-of-memorial ">donors to this project.From this Year Forward Veterans will always be remembered and honored here in Anthem. So mark your calendars: Friday, November 11, 10 a.m., at Anthem Community Park. Come on out, enjoy the event and meet the people behind the Anthem Veterans Memorial! We know there may be many more people and businesses than we mention here that have pitched in with labor, materials, time, and donations. We apologize for any unintended omissions.This blog post quotes and draws from several articles from the Veterans Memorial pages at http://www.onlineatanthem.com/anthem-veterans-memorial">OnlineAtAnthem.com.

Posted by Doreen Drew

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