By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MASON - City officials hope for a big turnout of supporters for veterans and the city's memorial project this Veterans Day weekend.

The Mason Veterans Memorial Community Challenge event is aimed at reminding the community of the price that was paid for freedom, said Mason Councilwoman Charlene Pelfrey, an event organizer. Opening ceremonies start at 7:30 p.m. tonight, followed by military and historical education exhibits open until 10 p.m. at the Mason Municipal Building, 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road.

Civil War re-enactors will be on site through Saturday afternoon, and the Ohio National Guard will then guard the colors outside the shell of the new veterans' memorial all night.

The memorial, at the new municipal building, is expected to be completed by Veterans Day 2003, pushed back from the original May completion date. It will feature several pillars representing the devastating wars in American history, and one to represent the hope for no more conflicts.

It will include an eternal flame and a "wall of tears," with water flowing down black granite.

"We wanted it to be regressing into the ground to give it more of a bunker feel," Ms. Pelfrey said. "When you're inside of that memorial, the world kind of goes away. You really can focus on what you're seeing, because you can't see any cars. It gives way for quiet contemplation."

A community challenge continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers also will put 75 large flags at subdivision entrances across the city to remind people of Veterans Day and collect donations for the memorial.

Organizers have raised more than $100,000, but still have a long way to go to cover the memorial's $500,000 to $600,000 cost.

The city donated the land and infrastructure.

The project began in 2001, sparked by local veterans' earlier efforts to build a memorial. Bricks sold for that memorial, along with bricks being sold now at $35 each, will be used in the site.

"This memorial is not just to honor our veterans and those currently serving in the military, but to be an educational tool to our youth so they can understand the great sacrifice that has been paid for our freedom," Ms. Pelfrey said.

City officials and local schools also will be participating in a 10 a.m. Veterans Day service Mondayat Christ's Church at Mason, 5165 Western Row Road.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com