Since the unveiling of the Veterans Memorial on November 11 in downtown Oakley, there have been a few people criticizing the order of the military branches and urge it be fixed.
Oakley Councilman Kevin Romick addressed the concerns during Tuesday’s city council meeting stating the memorial was a joint effort between the community along with many local businesses.
“I’ve heard nothing but compliments about the Memorial,” stated Romick. “But, there have been a few questions regarding the order of the monument. We have had people coming and telling us no you have it all wrong and I am the expert it has to be this, this and this.”
Romick shared that the they did their research and reached out to a number of websites, a number of residents, veterans and others.
“We have had comments from two military people both saying the way it is today is absolutely fine, you did it okay and there is nothing wrong with it,” explained Romick. “There are going to be people out there who are always looking for something to criticize and that is all I can say about those people. It’s unfortunate that they just can’t accept this absolutely wonderful monument that we put up there for the warriors of this country and appreciate the fact that we are honoring them and the first thing they want to do is find something to nit-pick about and say we don’t think you have it in the right order.”
Romick noted that they have been assured a number of times that the monuments order that they are in right now are correct and there is no action they need to take.
Romick closed out his comments thanking everyone again who showed up and supported the memorial both in spirit and through donations.
Summary of how the Memorial came about according to Kevin Romick per his Nov. 11 comments:
- In 1999, the City of Oakley incorporates and looking for tradition.
- In 2007, City Hall is completed with the corner left empty for future monument. It was later told that Oakley had a missing monument. After a brief search, it was located at the Antioch fairgrounds. Councilmembers Anderson and Romick appealed to the fairgrounds directors and stated that monument belongs to Oakley. Their response was thank you very much, possession is 9/10th of the law and we will leave it here.
- The pursuit of a new memorial began with Nicholas Weizenbach, managing partner at the Oak View Memorial Cemetery. After discussion and input, the City Council approved it.
- The cost of the memorial was $70,000, Wings To Fly was the financial sponsor.
- Stonecrest Lending helped with fundraising efforts and raised $6,500
- It came time to build the memorial and the pillars weighed 3,000 lbs apiece and the foundation could not held them without cracking. With the help of Swisher Concrete Brothers, they Enthusiastically responded to our cries for help. That “yes” turned out to be a lot more expensive than they could have imaged. Romick stated that to show gratitude they added the “Platinum Level Sponsorship” to recognize the amount donated which was far in excess of $5,000.
- Romick also thanked Nancy Marquez for coordination and ensuring names were correct on all bricks.
- Bricks will soon be on sale again (estimated in a few weeks).
For more photographs of the Nov. 11 unveiling, click here.
1 comment
Well, the services do love their “in-service” rivalries. My only disappointment is that the Merchant Marine were not included. During WWII they had the highest percentage of casualties delivering troops, ammunition, weapons and supplies to our forces.
What is most important, it that the City of Oakley built the Veterans Memorial to honor those who served in uniform in defense of the United State. Anything else is insignificant.
Master Chef Petty Officer, US Navy-Retired
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