Monument honors war dead
ADAMS TWP — Hundreds of people turned out Sunday for the dedication of the newly finished Adams Township War Memorial, which was unveiled under a bright blue sky at the Community Park.
Everyone from toddlers in strollers to World War II veterans came to show their respect for the 147 soldiers and sailors from the southern part of Butler County who will remain in memory on the black granite monument where their names are engraved.
The servicemen listed on the gleaming monument were killed in action, missing in action or died as a prisoner during each war fought by the United States since the Civil War.
A small podium in front of the monument lists the six branches of the U.S. military in which the soldiers and sailors served, and a stone bench engraved with each conflict since the Civil war surrounds the monument.
A plaque behind the monument depicts in bronze the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima.
Each feature was unveiled over time during the moving ceremony, which began with an invocation by the Rev. Peter deVries of Old Union Presbyterian Church.
The seven uniformed, elderly veterans who carried out the gun salute snapped to attention when their comrades in the Bantam Marine Detachment 742 presented the flag.
Three scout troops saluted the flag as they led the huge group of spectators in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Adams resident Ken Carlson, one of two keynote speakers, drove home for the crowd the point of the monument.
“I hope this will be a place where people will stop, and maybe they'll tell their children, 'For the love of country, these people accepted death,'” Carlson said.
He also praised township residents Paul Ford and his wife, Mary Jane, who designed the monument and organized its construction.
“Paul and Mary Jane probably don't realize how much they've done to help us remember (those on the monument,)” Carlson said. “This looks like something that would be down on the three rivers.”
The event's other speaker was Ford's nephew, Scott Ford, who has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan four times and now is a judge advocate for the Army Reserves.Ford praised his uncle for instituting the war memorial and seeing it through, but he asked the crowd to remember that Paul Ford also ran dozens of combat convoys during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.“For me, this is the most important memorial I could ever be a part of,” the younger Ford said.Paul Ford spent his time at the microphone praising the business owners who didn't think twice about donating thousands in materials and labor for the memorial.“There are generous people who live in this area,” Ford said.Veterans Dean McMillen of Evans City and John Fetzer of Mars unveiled the monument and then laid two wreaths at its base. They were accompanied by the parents of Michael Slebodnik, who was killed in Afghanistan.“These flowers may wither, but the spirit of which they are a symbol will endure until the end of time,” McMillen said.After a rendition of “God Bless America” by the Greater Cranberry Barbershop Chorus, all five township supervisors presented Paul and Mary Jane Ford with a wood and brass ornamental clock to show their appreciation for the memorial.“This area definitely stands behind its veterans,” supervisor Chairman Donald Aiken said before the ceremony.“The people of Adams Township came to honor the veterans who fought for our country,” said Supervisor Linda Lees, “and it's a beautiful day for it.”Lees marveled at Paul and Mary Jane Fords' dedication to the project.“They are hard workers,” Lees said. “They did everything unselfishly, and they did a magnificent job.”After the gun salute, the Bantam Detachment's bugler's rendition of “taps” echoed through the park as veterans young and old saluted the flag.John A. Snyder of Valencia, a World War II Marine who served during the Battle of Iwo Jima, summed up the thoughts of those who attended the ceremony.“All of our veterans should be honored, not on one day of the year, but every day of the year,” Snyder said.The monument is in the park at Three Degree and Valencia roads.Pavers engraved with the names of veterans can be bought for the floor of the memorial site by logging onto the township's website, www.adamstwp.org.
