This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/02/2018 09:00 AMWith Memorial Day less than a month away, VFW Post 9918 in Clinton has a special way for residents to honor a loved one who has served in the nation’s military.
The Veterans Brick/Paver Project is a paved walkway at Post Office Square in Clinton, made from bricks each bearing the rank, military branch, country of conflict, and years of service of a U.S. veteran.
Post member Tom Kehoe said that the bricks are available not just for veterans who served and lived in Clinton, but also for relatives who served and lived anywhere in the country.
“We want to make sure a dad or mom who served is recognized,” he said. “It’s open to everyone. We want to make it very inclusive.”
Kehoe said the idea for the walk came about in 2013 after VFW members saw what Madison had done with its walkway.
“We realized there were a lot of veterans in Clinton,” Kehoe said. “When we first started, we [laid bricks] about four times a year.”
Now, new bricks are added twice a year, usually around Memorial and Veterans days. They are designed by Shelley Brothers Monuments in Guilford and installed for free by Grove Gardens in Clinton.
Kehoe said that the oldest brick in the walk honors a veteran of the Spanish-American War, with bricks representing many branches of service and spanning locations from North Africa to Vietnam.
“The walk has a lot of history,” he added. “It’s a whole historical potpourri of military service.”
There are currently 273 bricks in the site, Kehoe said, however the VFW has plenty of space for people who wish to honor a beloved veteran.
“We can keep going long after I’m gone,” Kehoe said.
The bricks are available for $40; application forms are stocked in a box at the walkway site.