Members of the City of Virginia have put together a new memorial to honor local soldiers who died defending the United States.
The Virginia City Council room now houses a 28-foot military tribute wall to 64 local soldiers from World War I and forward with photos, biographies, and information that has been collected about each of the soldiers. A few area donations made the memorial possible, resulting in no cost to the city.
More than a thousand local men and women who have served in the military are also honored at a nearby table. There are leather bound binders which hold a collection of military photographs, and other service related or biographical information. The scrapbooks also list names of Virginia people who registered their military discharge at the courthouse or were listed in other publications. A small binder contains those from Virginia, Illinois who served in the Civil War.
Janet Martin, the project manager and current member of the Virginia City Council, says that the project is ongoing as additions are made.
The Veteran Memorial at the Virginia City Hall will be officially revealed to the public at an Open House on Saturday, Nov. 9th from 10 am to 4 pm.