Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Two months ago, the Executive Board of American Legion Otto M. Walker Post 49 began brainstorming and organizing a new project called the Memorial Walk of Honor. The Walk will consist of 350 bricks that will be installed in front of the American Legion building, located at 1065 S. Water St., which will create a walkway leading from the building entrance and extending to the flagpole in front of the building.
Each brick that makes up the walkway is intended to be engraved with information to memorialize and honor a veteran, and members of the community are welcome and encouraged to purchase a brick to be added to the Memorial Walk of Honor. Anyone can honor a veteran; you do not need to be a member of the American Legion, nor do you need to be a relative of the veteran you would like to honor. Any veteran that is memorialized on the bricks does not need to be a Monticello or Jefferson County resident, they just need to be a veteran. Post 49 states that all veterans are welcome to be memorialized in the Walk of Honor regardless of race, religion or ethnicity, and that individuals in the community may order as many bricks as they wish to be added to the walkway.
When ordering a brick, individuals will be asked to provide the name of the veteran, what branch of the military they served in, when/where they served, and any specific divisions they served with. The cost per brick is $50, but there is an option to include a logo on the brick as well for an additional $7. There are over four pages of different logos to choose from on the American Legion Post 49 Facebook page. All engravings will appear as black text (or logo image) on a red brick.
Each person who orders a brick will also receive a special certificate stating that the veteran you choose to honor will be forever honored and remembered in the American Legion Otto M. Walker Walk of Honor. This certificate is 11x 8 ½ inches on Vellum Bristol and is suitable for framing in an office, den or anywhere for display, or even as a gift to the veteran you are honoring.
A total of 350 bricks will complete the walkway. To begin the project, Post 49 plans on installing blank bricks along the entire path, and will replace each brick as orders come in. Once they reach a minimum of 30 engraved bricks, they will begin construction on the walkway. To place a brick order, visit the American Legion Post 49 Facebook page or you may send a completed order form with the description “Bricks” to:
American Legion Otto M. Walker Post 49
P.O. Box 761
Monticello, Florida, 32345
Order forms may also be picked up at the Monticello News office, at the front desk.
It is said that “a veteran is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and including his or her life.” Family members, friends and loved ones of veterans can help immortalize the patriotism and sacrifice that each veteran has made to our country in dedicating an engraved brick in the Memorial Walk of Honor. Each brick ordered helps Post 49 raise money for community outreach efforts and much-needed repairs and updates to their building, which is located at 1065 S. Water St., in Monticello.
For more information, Kenny The at (850)666-3643 or Tony Minichiello at (850) 528-2125.