Veterans Memorial, Lexington, Illinois

(November 2007)

            With Veterans Day being in November we thought it would be nice to have a story having to do with the Veterans of Lexington.  As we drive down Main Street there is a beautiful Memorial for the Veterans that have served our county, which sits next to City Hall.  It was started in April of 1995 as a proposal to the city council, as it sits on city property.  Miles Ward the memorial chairman outlined the proposal to the city council. Contributions were asked for by the Elmo F. Hill Post 291 of the American Legion as this was a community funded project.  A long list of Lexington and former residents made donations that totaled over $5,000 which was enough not only for the memorial but also for the landscaping of the area and a flag pole.  The memorial is a sixteen and a half foot long wall made of brick and stone.  The wall was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 1995.

Here is a picture of how the Memorial looks today

This is the dedication from the wall

            In July of 2006 the Elmo F. Hill American Legion Post 291was again working on some improvements to the existing memorial.  They were adding lighting and redoing the landscaping as to make the wall noticeable.  Rod Worth was quoted as saying, “We decided it was time to honor those killed or missing in service to their country during wartime.”  They added an additional granite stone engraved with the names of  residents killed or missing during wars from World War I to present.  Again the improvements were done with private donations and city and Legion labor.  It was dedicated in September of 2006.

            So now as you go down Main Street in Lexington and you look to the Veterans Memorial you will see what all of the hard work of the Legion, the city and the private citizens of this community have done in respect and adoration for those few good men and woman that have served and sacrificed for all of us, so that we may live in a country that allows all of us to live in Freedom!

This is how the granite stone reads to date
 

LEXINGTON RESIDENTS THAT DIED SERVING OUR COUNTY AT TIME OF WAR

“THEY GAVE THEIR ALL”

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