Veterans memorial moving forward

Vietnam veteran Capt. Scott Clark (retired) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is comforted Saturday morning by his wife, Susan, as he stands at the gravesite of his friend, Capt. Winston Robinson of Rector, at Woodland Heights Cemetery. Clark and Robinson served together in Vietnam in 1967 as artillery helicopter combat pilots and became like brothers during that time. The two had expected to continue their friendship for years, but Clark, who returned home a few weeks before Robinson completed his mission, soon learned his friend had died when his helicopter was shot down. After years of difficulty in dealing with his friend's loss, Clark began a search to find the burial site and, through contact with the Clay County Democrat, learned Robinson had been laid to rest in his hometown. The visit to Rector and to the Arkansas State University museum, which houses a display on Robinson, helped bring much-needed closure, Clark said. (Democrat photo/Nancy Kemp)

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The project is off to a tremendous start with major contributions from committee co-chairman George Barker and committee member Melvin Bridges.

Barker, a Rector native and retired Army general who lives in New York City, has donated $10,000 to the project. He also anticipates donating an additional $5,000 soon through a matching gift from Mutual of America, a corporation with which he is involved.

Bridges, a Rector native who now lives in California, has pledged $5,000. Bridges served eight years in the Marine Corps and has a brother who was killed in Vietnam.

Barker chaired the meeting and went through an agenda of items pertaining to the memorial, which will be located on Main Street just to the south of the new Rector Community Development office being developed in the historic city jail building.

Barker has been obtaining price quotes on a bronze statue of a World War II soldier, which will be the focal point of the memorial. He plans to visit similar statues in other locations and a representative of a company that makes the statues plans to take a look at the local site in the near future.

Rector native Paul Frets, who will be joining the committee, is helping with the design of the memorial and has developed several sketches already of the impressive site. It features the bronze soldier statue in full combat gear, flags of the various branches of the Armed Services, a United States flag and an Arkansas flag. Also included in the plan is special recognition of Rectorites who died in service to country.

The committee decided on a formal name at Friday's meeting -- Veterans Memorial Park Assoc.

A local bank account has been established this week so that donations to the project may begin. All donations are tax-deductible.

Barker also is developing a Founders Committee, which will consist of those making donations of at least $1,000. Members of the Founders Committee will be recognized in a special manner by the association.

Donations currently are being accepted and may be mailed to Veterans Memorial Park Assoc., 409 South Stewart, Rector, AR 72461.

Barker also is working on a brochure for the project, which will explain details of its development and provide information for donors. It is anticipated the brochure will be available for distribution on Labor Day weekend in Rector.

Also on the agenda was discussion of the size of the memorial site and suitable landscaping for the area. The land is being donated by Sherland Hamilton, Pauline Crockett and George and Robert Jernigan.

The committee plans to meet three times a year with various task force projects undertaken locally throughout the year. The next meeting will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Rector City Hall. The final meeting of the year will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22.

Other committee members present were co-chairman Glenn Leach, Barbara Hamilton, Sarah Burdin, Richard Simmons and Bridges. Ex-officio members present were mayor Ron Kemp and community development staffers Jacinda Welch and Cyndi Corkran. Other committee members are Danny Ford and Wheeler Williams.