Memorial marks decades of community dedication

The World War II/Korean War Memorial is com­plete. The project, locat­ed at 18 East Broadway, is now open to the pub­lic, and vis­i­tors are encour­aged to stop by. 

The memo­r­i­al design was approved more than 20 years ago, and for much of that time it was a project in search of funds and a fit­ting loca­tion. After a long hia­tus, the Clark County Veterans Council began in earnest to search for a site, vis­it­ing more than 20 prospects, many at local schools. 

The school admin­is­tra­tion coop­er­at­ed in try­ing to make a site avail­able, but legal issues even­tu­al­ly pre­clud­ed locat­ing the memo­r­i­al on school property. 

Early fundrais­ing efforts began with dona­tions from both city and coun­ty gov­ern­ments and the sale of memo­r­i­al bricks to be placed at the site; quite a num­ber were sold ear­ly in the process. 

During the long peri­od when the project did not move for­ward, most of those who pur­chased bricks nev­er asked for refunds. The ear­ly brick orders were also kept intact and formed the basis for a renewed effort in 2023, the year a piv­otal deci­sion moved the project forward. 

In August 2023, the Winchester City Commission vot­ed unan­i­mous­ly to ded­i­cate the prop­er­ty to the memo­r­i­al. The site was on vacant land cre­at­ed by the demo­li­tion of a con­demned building. 

Without that com­mit­ment, the site might have become a park­ing lot. 

Shortly after­ward, after a vis­it to the site and an expla­na­tion of the project to Whitney Allen, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, the depart­ment boost­ed the effort with a $100,000 grant. 

Once it became appar­ent that the project was viable, addi­tion­al dona­tions came in from indi­vid­u­als, indus­tries, and many businesses. 

Construction began in ear­ly 2024 even though more fundrais­ing was need­ed to com­plete the project. With con­tin­ued efforts and an ongo­ing influx of funds and dona­tions, work con­tin­ued, though with some short-term inter­rup­tions. Anticipated ded­i­ca­tions of the memo­r­i­al were post­poned at least twice until, in 2025, progress was deemed suf­fi­cient for a ded­i­ca­tion on Veterans Day, although the cer­e­mo­ny took place one day later. 

On a brisk but sun­ny day that November, an esti­mat­ed crowd of about 250 attend­ed the long-await­ed event. The entry walk, con­tain­ing 293 bricks, wel­comed vis­i­tors who could view 96 gran­ite mark­ers telling part of the sto­ry of the 96 indi­vid­u­als memo­ri­al­ized there — Clark Countians who gave their lives in World War II and Korea. 

The Veterans Council has empha­sized that the memo­r­i­al is not a trib­ute to war. It is a solemn com­mem­o­ra­tion of the peo­ple whose names are inscribed on the gran­ite mark­ers, under­scor­ing the ter­ri­ble cost of war. 

At the time of ded­i­ca­tion, spaces remained in the walk for addi­tion­al memo­r­i­al bricks, so sales con­tin­ued with the goal of ful­ly fill­ing the walk. The last brick was sold on June 8, 2026, and the final 73 were set in place on July 23, 2026 — bring­ing the total to 366 memo­r­i­al bricks in the walk. 

Approximately $300,000 went into the project, not includ­ing the val­ue of the land ded­i­cat­ed by the city. 

Though the memo­r­i­al is offi­cial­ly com­plete, plants even­tu­al­ly will have to be replaced, and addi­tion­al plant­i­ngs may be added to screen the rear retain­ing wall. There has also been dis­cus­sion about a mur­al on the back of the build­ing on the west side of the memo­r­i­al, one that would com­ple­ment the site’s solemnity. 

The effort, last­ing more than 20 years, reflects the ded­i­ca­tion of a small group of vet­er­ans and what can hap­pen when a com­mu­ni­ty comes togeth­er to make some­thing happen. 

Additional infor­ma­tion about the fea­tures of the design can be found at www.wccveteransmemorial.org.