Mar 05 2020
Alexis Scott | WAAY TV
We're learning more about plans for a Gold Star Families monument in Huntsville.
It'll be added to the Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial.
The city plans to break ground on it by the end of the year!
It'll serve as a tribute to those families who lost loved ones in the military and will be the first of its kind in Alabama.
WAAY 31 spoke with a woman who lost her father while he was serving and she said this monument is everything.
Amanda Moore's father fought in the war in Beirut and he died when she was just 3 years old.
She said he never got the recognition he deserved, but she hopes the new monument will serve a thank you to those who lost their lives serving their country.
"The line of duty deaths weren't really addressed and handled in the manner that they're handled in for today's gold star children," said Amanda Moore.
Amanda Moore's father served in the 1982 Lebanon War and died during a suicide bombing attack in 1983.
When he passed, Amanda was just a baby, but she never stopped searching for answers of his life and history.
She told WAAY 31 it is still a constant battle.
"It's not just a one and done type scenario. You grieve it at different stages and it never goes away," She said.
She told us she's traveled a lot and has seen numerous Gold Star Family monuments but none in Alabama.
Now, Huntsville is the first city in the state to announce plans to build one.
Moore told us it's been a long time coming and she's thankful she'll be able to tell others and show her children.
She has this to say to her late father.
"I would thank him. I would thank him for his willingness to go and be of service and his willingness to sacrifice his life and I would tell him I'm very proud of him and that I'm proud to be his daughter and I'm proud he left me the legacy that he did," said Moore.
Officials hope it'll serve as a place of honor and reflection, and a place to gather and remember.
There are 59 monuments in 45 states so far.
The Huntsville monument is being paid for through private funding and will be maintained through the the Huntsville-Madison County Veterans memorial fund.
