The Manheim Veterans Memorial Committee (MVMC) has a motto that sums up its mission: Honor Their Service. To fulfill this goal, the group recently launched a capital campaign to raise funds for the creation of a memorial plaza in Manheim's Veterans Memorial Park.
"This is something we want to do for all Manheim veterans, whether they served in war or in peace," said retired Army Brig. Gen. George Schwartz, a member of the committee. "There is a long list of people in Manheim who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but everyone who serves sacrifices something. We want to honor everyone." The memorial will be dedicated to residents of Manheim Borough and Penn and Rapho townships. It will include flagpoles for the standards of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard as well as the Merchant Marines of World War II. The plaza will also consolidate the various memorials already in place around town to provide one access point for honoring veterans.
"Consolidating the memorials will give them more meaning," Schwartz said. "People might walk by some of the memorials and never really notice them. Some have actually been in storage because they were moved due to development, so it will be nice to be able to have a dedicated place to put them all."
Members of the MVMC had planned to conduct their capital campaign in 2020, but the pandemic put it off a year. The group, made up of volunteers, hopes to raise $300,000 through donations, in-kind gifts, special events and the sale of memorial bricks for the plaza.
"Parts of the plaza are going to be paved by bricks, and they will be engraved," Schwartz noted. "Bricks can honor any veteran, not just someone from Manheim. It's a great way to get involved in our effort and to recognize a veteran." He said the committee is working on plans for people to adopt a veteran from World War II and purchase a brick in his or her honor.
The MVMC is being assisted by an advisory board made up of local residents including Penn Township manager Mark Hiester, former Manheim Central School superintendent Lew Jury and Manheim Borough Council president Carol Phillips.
The capital campaign will run through Veterans Day, and the committee has set a goal for the groundbreaking of the plaza to coincide with the Manheim Memorial Day parade in 2022. For more information, visit https://manheimveteransmemorial.org.
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