The Tenino Honor Roll Committee, in partnership with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5878 and the City of Tenino, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a new veterans monument at Tenino City Park on Saturday, March 8, at 10 a.m., according to an email from VFW Post 5878 Surgeon Frank Hicks.
While a veterans monument already exists at the park, that one isn’t specific to Tenino High School alumni and residents.
“The one that’s there now is for South Thurston County,” Hicks previously told The Chronicle. “This one is just going to be for the Teninoans who have served, around 600 men and women.”
Saturday’s ceremony will be held at the new monument’s location at Tenino City Park, by the Tenino Quarry Memorial Pool, which is also dedicated to veterans. The park is located at 215 Park Ave. E. in Tenino.
According to the agreement officially signed during a Tenino City Council meeting last November, the city is responsible for preparing the site for the new monument by compacting the soil and installing a gravel base, along with supplying power and water during its construction.
A veteran committee including Hicks, members of the local American Legion chapter and the South Thurston County Historical Society, will be responsible for designing and engineering the monument, providing gravel needed for the base and will be responsible for all construction costs.
VFW Post 5878 is still holding a fundraiser to help pay for construction costs, including selling paving bricks for the memorial for $100 and honor-donor bricks for $1,000 to help cover construction costs.
The honor-donor bricks will be included in the monument. Additionally, Hicks has pledged his estate to ensure all financial costs will be met if the necessary funding to complete the monument isn’t raised.
“The city wanted to make sure there was money there for completion of the monument so it wasn’t a hole in the ground,” Hicks previously told The Chronicle.
Those interested in purchasing either a paving brick or honor-donor brick to help fund the new monument can visit VFW Post 5878 in Tenino to fill out the donation form and make their donation.
VFW Post 5878 is located at 285 Sussex Ave. E. in downtown Tenino. For more information, call VFW Post 5878 at 360-264-5420.
