In 2015 The Fergus Falls Monument company was approached to head up the design and construction of a new Veterans Memorial to be constructed in the Fergus Falls Veterans Park. During the winter of 2016 the design process started with initial shape of the overall memorial. Soon after the centerpiece rough drawing options were sketched and each individual granite pillar shape was decided.
The decision to have a pentagon shape with the central pillar allowed for each branch of the military to be represented by an 18” bronze emblem and would be hand carved with an American flag. Each side of the pentagon would have a walkway extending to a 66” tall pillar with names of MIA and KIA soldiers on them. Under the structure would be 1100 16X8” granite pavers with names of small donors to the memorial. The design intentionally left room for expansion. The memorial would also include a new granite sign as well as 5 or more granite benches with donor’s names on them.
The Memorial committee was consulted by Fergus Falls Monument to use a domestic stone that is quarried only 100 miles away, in contrast to the original plan to order the stone from India or China. Dakota Mahogany granite was the material of choice.
Once the central pillar was decided on, the memorial started to take shape. The design on each pillar was now the topic of conversation. The Committee wanted to depict each branch of the military. Since the Fergus Falls Monument Company has erected many memorials for veterans, their expertise was once again invaluable to the design of the pillar. It was decided to use 1 ¼” letters for the names, this allows for the use of a frosted inlay letter which would stand out through the test of time. Finding the right design on each pillar proved to be more of a challenge. The committee wanted something that was not as common for the depiction of each branch, the option to have a silhouette of a soldier on each pillar saluting the flag that was carved onto the central pillar, was given by the Fergus Falls Monument Co. Once the design concept was viewed by the committee, the decision was unanimous.
Completion of the signage and the final 2 benches is scheduled for spring 2017.