Statue Proposed for Veterans’ Memorial

Local veterans and visitors on Marco Island may see another addition to Veterans’ Community Park sometime in late 2022 or early 2023 if plans for a new statue come to fruition. This was announced at the July 19 meeting of the City Council and is awaiting approval and acquisition of final funding.

Councilor Erik Brechnitz announced at that meeting that the Marco Island Parks and Recreation Foundation has received a request from the local American Legion Post to help fund a statute similar to the one located near the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC.

Brechnitz, who also chairs that Foundation, indicated that their board was in favor of helping to fund the endeavor, along with funds that already have been donated to the Veterans group. He wished to give the council a heads up with regard to the project, prior to it coming to them for approval.

The build out of the park has been under discussion for over a year now and the plans have been finalized. However, Brechnitz said he was certain that the placement of a statue within the Veterans’ area would not be a problem with the assistance of Kimley-Horn, the city’s architectural consultant on the project. 

The sculpture itself would take approximately one year to create. The original one in Washington, DC, stands 7 feet high and sits on a one-foot-high base. The three soldiers shown represent a Hispanic man, an African-American man and a Caucasian man, all three ethnic groups that were heavily represented in that conflict.

The original Veterans’ Memorial that was constructed in Veterans’ Community Park was accomplished primarily through donations received from the community and local organizations. It originally was dedicated on November 11, 2011, on Veterans Day. The Freedom Fountain was constructed at a later date due to the generosity of community donations.