Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial dedicated

By Randy Capps

ARCHER LODGE — It’s tough to miss the Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial on Buffalo Road. The seven flag poles reaching into the sky catch the eye of passing motorists. The poles, and the memorial itself, provide a sudden burst of scenery next door to Town Hall. It was a project that took nearly five years to complete, but aside from a bit of minor landscaping, the Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial is finished.

“We really wanted to get it done and to a point where we could dedicate it on (Nov. 10),” Doug Long, a member of the Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial, said. “We figured, let’s just put the grass down and get it going and we’ll worry about the rest later.” The committee raised much of the money necessary for the project the old fashioned way — with food. “Pretty much what you’re looking at was built on biscuits,” Long said. “Every month, we’d have a biscuit sale and make 12 to 15 hundred dollars.”

The Town of Archer Lodge donated the land for the memorial and helped defray some of the cost. The county also chipped in $35,000 near the end of the project. That money helped get the flagpoles erected, Long said. There’s a fallen soldier statue at the entrance to the memorial, and area veterans are honored in bricks and stone in front of the granite centerpiece.

There’s a nod to each service in the design as well. “When you enter the memorial circle, the service medallions are placed in the star points by age of inception,” Long said. “Going from right to left, for example, the Army is on the right after you enter since it was the first service. The Marine Corps is to the left since they were the second, then Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The flags are set the same way with Army first, but they go from left to right with ‘Old Glory’ in the center.”

The finished product is a powerful symbol honoring those who have served.

“It’s hard for any veteran to come here and not get a feel for what it means,” Long, an Army veteran, said. “For a little town like Archer Lodge, it’s really nice.”

The Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial Committee members are Mike Mulhollem, CoChair and Treasurer, Saundra Freeman, Co-Chair, Connie Mulhollem, Secretary, J.Mark Jackson, Assistant Treasurer, Mike Gordon, Mark Wilson, Doug Long, Sue Boyette and Jim Purvis. Committee member Daniel Wall is not pictured.

In addition to his service, Long had some extra motivation to help with the project.

“I got into this because of my dad,” he said. “He was a World War II/Korean veteran. He died the year I joined. I was pretty much driven for him more than me.”

Long praised the committee for its hard work and tenacity in getting the memorial built.

“The people who did this were very dedicated,” he said. “At times, it was a little frustrating. But we had to keep going. We’re real pleased with it. … It’s great. We love it. We would have never thought it would turn out like this.”

The Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial is designed to honor all veterans, and anyone can purchase a memorial brick to be placed at the site. To learn more, visit www. alvetmemorial.org or follow the Archer Lodge Veterans Memorial page on Facebook.