Veterans Memorial Park construction begins for Never Forget Garden

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - The Veterans Memorial located at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex has been evolving since it opened. Tuesday, the foundation for a brand new memorial will be added.

The memorial located at the park has monuments, dedications and stories. These encompass wars from the Revolutionary War all the way to the Global War on Terrorism, following 9/11. Now, a new project called the Never Forget Garden is ready to lay its foundation.

“The Veterans Park and Athletic Complex is a very special place and I like to describe that as a place where duty, honor, and country, meet the pursuit of happiness,” Steve Beachy, with the Never Forget Garden Veterans Memorial, said. “It’s really a fitting tribute because, without the service and sacrifice of those veterans, particularly the ones that we honor on Memorial Day that died, those activities that people enjoy would not be possible. So to me, it’s a sacred place and it continues to evolve.

The new addition will honor all missing and unknown veterans. Something Sharron Rosedahl, with the Never Forget Garden Veterans Memorial, says comes from one big inspiration.

“What we’re going to be memorializing with that monument is the anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the 100th anniversary which was a year ago when we started this, and also the service that’s been given by all those people, especially the ones we’ve lost,” she said.

Concrete for the base of the project will be poured Tuesday. The group hopes to have the new memorial open next Spring. Fundraising efforts are continuing for the project. The Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial is accepting donations for brick pavers that will be inscribed and laid near the memorial.