County memorial turns 15
It all started with an ad John Cyprian placed in the Butler Eagle in 2001 inviting interested parties to a meeting on the addition of a World War II memorial at Diamond Park.
“Thirty-five people showed up,” said Cyprian, county director of Veterans Affairs.
As more and more meetings were held on the idea, many people fell away because they didn't agree with Cyprian's singular vision regarding an appropriate and lasting memorial to Butler County's members of the Greatest Generation.
“I didn't want a piece of sandstone with a bronze plaque on it,” Cyprian said. “It had to be something big, because World War II was a big war.”
He decided to place the ad after hearing complaints from the county's sailors, soldiers and flyboys of the '40s that no memorial to their service existed.
Of the original 35 who appeared at that first meeting, 17 stayed with Cyprian for the entire four years it took to get the large memorial finished.
“There's no other World War II memorial like that one in the world,” Cyprian said of the elaborate and symbolic structure in Diamond Park.
He said about 10 designs were proffered to the committee before John Gumpper, a World War II veteran of the Army Air Corps who died in January 2015, presented the one that became the current memorial. The memorial consists of:A 321-inch granite wall representing the number of county resident killed in action during the warGranite pillars in the shape of sandbags at each end to represent the Atlantic and Pacific oceansAn inset plaque in each sandbag pillar to represent a bunker entranceA world map in front of the memorial in red, white and blue to represent Axis nations, neutral nations and the oceanEach branch of the militaryThe dates associated with the warA bronze plaque describing each symbolic facet of the memorial.“It was meant to be an educational thing as well,” Cyprian said. “The Butler School District brings students there to talk about World War II.”He said Rick Hardman, then of Olsen Engineering, worked with Cyprian and the committee to ensure the memorial met the design.Hardman even took a globe atop one of the sandbag pillars home to paint it from the inside, as Cyprian had insisted painting the outside would require constant touching up.“People got frustrated with me,” said Cyprian, whose only goal was to end up with a worthy memorial.He said the $400,000 to design and build the memorial was easily raised by selling $200 military pavers to families of veterans.
Donors also ponied up to ensure the important memorial came to fruition.“Butler County is a very, very patriotic community,” Cyprian said. “No tax dollars were involved.”He said another goal of the committee was to create a maintenance-free memorial, which has proved to be the case since its construction.“We haven't sunk a dime into it for 15 years,” he said.Joyce Green of Winfield Township was Cyprian's secretary at the time of the memorial's creation and construction. She is now retired from her position with the county.She served with Cyprian on the committee.“It was a wonderful opportunity to be involved with something so marvelous,” Green said. “So many soldiers sacrificed so much and so many families sacrificed so much that I think it's important to remember.”She said she was privileged to meet so many World War II veterans, most of whom are now deceased, and their families during the paver sale.“It was like living history all over again,” Green said.She has heard lots of positive feedback on the memorial over the years.“It's one thing to read about World War II, but to see something with a map and realize how many people sacrificed is another,” Green said. “(The veterans) become people and not just a number.”She hopes the memorial will continue to honor in perpetuity those who served their country in the 1940s. “I still feel honored,” Green said. “It was a labor of love and I'm very proud of it and of the community and so many who gave so much.”
