2009 RE-DEDICATION CEREMONY
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Wisconsin Korean War Veterans Memorial, Village of Plover
This outstanding memorial complex was originally dedicated in 1994,
then again in 1997. Because of severe droughts and other climate
changes the past five years, the causeway (“Isle of Honor”)
connecting the park’s northern shoreline with the island memorial,
began to undergo structural environmental damage. The Memorial was
meant to be a PERMANENT tribute to Wisconsin Korean War veterans, so
major infrastructure changes were
necessary. Consulting civil engineers studied the problem and the
Board of Directors decided that a temporary “fix” would not do. A
permanent solution was to install “Armorflex,” a material developed
in Europe in the mid-90’s which
had proven to be vastly superior to the traditional steel grid
reinforced concrete which had been overlayed on the Central
Wisconsin sand berm.
A $165,000 dollar matching grant from the Wisconsin Legislature,
combined with an equal amount raised over a four- year period
through volunteer contributions – including $30,000 donated by the
Village of Plover, provided the
monies needed. Bids were let, major construction began in the fall
of 2008, and work was completed before snow fell. A re-dedication
was planned for June 7, 2009.
As an expression of gratitude, the 2009 observance was dedicated to
the Citizens and Trustees of the Village of Plover, without whose
consistent loyalty, dedication, generosity and perseverance this
memorial would not have become a reality.
Under cloudy skies, the June 7 re-dedication began at 10:30 a.m.
with a concert by the Brass Quintet of the 132nd Army Band, WIARNG.
Promptly at 11 a.m., the hour-and-a-half ceremony and program
commenced with Presentation of the Colors followed by the playing of
the national anthems of the Republic of Korea and the United States
of America. Then, the chaplain delivered the Invocation.
For the sixth consecutive year a special tribute was paid to those
brave Wisconsin men and women of our Armed Forces who “gave their
last full measure of devotion” in the ongoing wars in Iraq and in
Afghanistan. Brigadier General Donald P. Dunbar, Wisconsin’s Adjutant General, spoke of the
personal sacrifices. KWVMAW Chaplain Sharon Pieper read the names of
those who had died during the past year, then offered prayers for
the war dead and their families.
Also speaking were the Hon. Sung-Hwan Son, ROK Consul General in
Chicago and Kenneth Black, Acting Secretary of the Wisconsin
Department of Veterans Affairs. Doctor Seong Shin Ra, DMA –sang the
popular Korean folk ballad, “Arrirang.” Village Administrator Dan Mahoney spoke, followed by
KWVMAW Treasurer Dorothy “Dot” Wenzel. At that point, it began to
rain. Umbrellas deployed. It continued to downpour for the rest of
the program which included a reading of a poem by Plover’s “Poet Laureate,” Jim Pionke, and the
concluding “Honors to the War Dead” ceremony: laying of the wreaths
by Boy Scouts of Plover Troop 201, firing of the Volleys and the
sounding of “Taps.”
