BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON
- Many people in Butler County probably don't know the name of the park that overlooks Hamilton on the west side of the Great Miami River.
And, like many Americans, they probably don't know what happened on this day in 1918: the armistice of World War I.
But they know one thing - they appreciate their veterans.
Their tranquil hillside is Veterans Park, and at 4 p.m. today, it will welcome visitors to the groundbreaking of the new Butler County Memorial.
Veterans Park, at New London Road and C Street, is an appropriately named place for the new memorial, which will include 700 names of Butler County soldiers, sailors, Marines and aviators, listed on five tablets of black and gray granite.
It will be designed by Carpenter Monuments, a sixth-generation Hamilton business.
"There's a lot of community involvement with our veterans," said Donald E. Carpenter Sr., a member of the Veterans Memorial Committee. "The entire community does it. You can't say that about a lot of towns. Around here, the veterans are never forgotten.
Mr. Carpenter said the memorial will be made of Vermont barre granite.
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TO HELP
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The Veterans Memorial Committee is selling inscribed bricks for $50 each. Information: Call the monument building at 867-5823.
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Preparations for the memorial groundbreaking are coordinated by Mary Clark Harlan, monument manager and senior curator of the Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument, 130 High Street, Hamilton. Ms. Harlan, who served in the Army for 13 years, said Hamilton is fortunate to have people who care about veterans and a museum with an impressive collection of military artifacts. The turn-of-the-century memorial building displays exhibits on 20th century wars and lists all the veterans from Butler County.
Appreciation for veterans runs deep here. In October, the Butler County Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers Monument and the Marine Corps held a reception to honor the Raymond E. Petzold Memorial Platoon.
Sixty-five original platoon members were killed in action in World War II.
Inducted into the Marines in 1942, the platoon was formed in honor of Lt. Petzold, a Marine flier who was killed in a plane crash on Aug. 13, 1942. At the platoon's induction ceremony on the monument building's steps, 1,000 spectators watched.
For the memorial groundbreaking, Ms. Harlan expects 200 spectators. Some city and county officials will speak briefly and the Butler County Sheriff's Pipe and Drum Corps will play.
"Excavation for the granite will probably start in May, and we'll dedicate the memorial on the real Memorial Day - May 30," Ms. Harlan said. "That includes laying engraved bricks around the foundation of the memorial. We're off to a good start. Our first order so far is for 240."
