Sep 06 2019
Elizabeth JanneyPatch
HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — The Havre de Grace Gold Star Families Memorial Monument got some upgrades recently. Installation of up-lighting and a new concrete pad are now complete, the city announced this week of the special monument in Concord Point Park.
Bearing this inscription, the monument is designed "to recognize the sacrifices made by families who gave their sons, daughters and loved ones for the freedom of America." Gold Star families are those who have lost a loved one to war.
The new features to the monument were added a little more than a year after it was installed. Groundbreaking took place Sept. 11, 2017, at Concord Point Park, where the monument was unveiled and dedicated June 17, 2018.
Initially, access to the monument required detouring off the sidewalk at the park near the lighthouse.
Chairmen of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Craig Reeling and Johnny Boker advocated for the new walkway so those with mobility challenges would be able to get close.
They announced that work on the project began Aug. 27. Within two days, the upgrades neared completion. They said improvements to the monument were made possible by the city of Havre de Grace, donors and "a few good, just upright folks."
Installation of the concrete walkway and up-lighting brought to fruition phase two of a three-part plan for the memorial.
The next phase for the monument is installation of matching donor plaques, according to the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Committee.
