The idea for a veteran's memorial originated because there was some interest from veterans in our county.  Because it was a generous consensus to build a "county" memorial, a committee was formed that included veterans representing each community.  That was June, 2006.  Ida County had just dedicated their monument that Memorial Weekend. We agreed, if other counties in the area could finance this, so could we!  It took several meetings to conclude that there was enough interest and enthusiasm to continue with the project.

Where do you start?  You need money, you need a design, you need an architect but most of all, you need the passion and patience to see this through!  Two very important factors helped get the project going.  The Board of Supervisors generously donated $5,000 as we needed upfront money to get an architect on board, to print and distribute the brochures, to purchase paper and postage, etc.   Also, an anonymous veteran from the area was so inspired, he pledged $5,000 to the project- he immediately wrote a check for $2,500, and after the first of the year gave us another $2,500 check.  That truly planted the seed, and we began.

Edward Soenke, The Design Partnership from West Des Moines, and I crossed paths through a mutual acquaintance.  Richard Hogue, a Vietnam Veteran formally from Schaller, now  living in Colorado, had read about the proposed memorial in the Schaller Herald and called to ask some questions.  When he learned that we were searching for an architect, he mentioned that a classmate of his was married to Mr. Soenke...and the rest is history.  Mr. Soenke has a fine reputation for his works in Iowa and elsewhere in the United States.

The cost for an inscribed name is $100.  After all of the written letters, phone calls, and internet searches, this amount seemed to be the fairest. I have only known of one city/county memorial that was financed with tax dollars, a few by straight donations, and all others  charged a set fee per name - some as high as $300/name.   We have received some donations from businesses and individuals, and some veterans have given more than $100....but for the most part, the money raised has been the $100 that is required.  If you know of a veteran that should have his/her name on the memorial and there are no funds available, we do have set-aside funds for those names.  Don't be afraid to pass on that veterans name to us.  

On behalf of the entire committee, we are proud of our accomplishments thus far.  We sometimes wondered if we would get to this point.  We have met monthly now for 27 months; letters have been sent, news articles written, phone calls made.  It has been an endless task.  There has been a little criticism, but mostly praise for our efforts.  Our goal was to have a memorial that would proudly honor Sac County Veterans...we feel that we will achieve this goal and hope that you, your family members, and everyone else will enjoy the memorial for years to come.