Service walk opens in Columbus

By Aniesa HolmesJune 3, 2014

usa image
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 4, 2014) -- Members of Columbus, Phenix City and Fort Benning communities celebrated the opening of the new Military Service Walk during a dedication ceremony May 29 at Woodruff Park in downtown Columbus.

The project features eight granite monuments displaying excerpts of letters, emails and other correspondence written by fallen service members to their Families.

Susan Wiggins, vice president for stakeholder relations for W.C. Bradley Company and a volunteer for the Military Service Walk, said the project gives residents and visitors who walk along the Chattahoochee River an opportunity to pay their respects to those who sacrificed their lives for their country.

"This space is meant to show appreciation and gratitude to people in the armed services, who throughout the decades and conflicts have fought for our freedom and quality of life in America," she said.

Students of Columbus State University's Servant Leadership Program conceived the idea for the project last year, Wiggins said. The first eight monuments of the project were completed in approximately 18 months with funding from private donors.

More monuments will be added through future donations and letter submissions.

"We feel that as people walk through and read the letters, they will be moved to submit more letters to us," Wiggins said. "We expect this to grow and possibly expand down the river. We really want residents of Columbus and visitors to respond to it and hopefully make submissions that will be included here."

Col. John J. Marr, Fort Benning chief of staff, a guest speaker for the ceremony, said the support of the local community through efforts like the Military Service Walk are noticed and have been appreciated by the Army community for decades.

"The support that our Soldiers and Family members receive in Columbus, Phenix City and other great communities is unparalleled, from a simple gesture like a military discount to larger organized efforts like the new Military Service Walk. It's obvious that the people here really love their service members."

A highlight of the ceremony was the reading of the correspondence on the monuments by active-duty, retired service members and Family members of the deceased, followed by a playing of taps.

Columbus resident Lisa Laird Morris read a letter written on Nov. 16, 1968, by her father, Maj. Jerry Laird, who was stationed at Fort Benning. Morris was only 4 years old when her father was killed in action on Jan. 22, 1969, in Vietnam.

"I am very excited that they chose my letter, it's a great way to memorialize my dad," Morris said. "I think (the public can honor the military) by coming and paying tribute, reading those letters and remembering that those people were real and they have real Families."

Submissions

Donate copies (no originals) of your letters, emails, tweets, Facebook messages and any other type of correspondence that holds meaning to you to the Columbus Military Service Walk.

Submit letters to:

•Militaryservicewalk@columbusbankandtrust.com.