Grafton's National Memorial of Military Ascent officially has an opening date.
Veterans and residents will finally get their chance to view the memorial hoisted along the bluffs on June 6. The memorial will include 12 life-size statues commemorating the Army Rangers who climbed the Pointe du Hoc cliffs on D-Day during World War II.
"I tell everybody it's a memorial for everyone," said Grafton Mayor Mike Morrow. "Not just the military, but also the civilians and everyone who supported it."
The idea was inspired by several trips Morrow, an Army veteran, and his wife took to Normandy, France.
In 2022, the city established a commission to start the first phase of a large-scale plan to honor all veterans and bring to life Grafton's Veteran's Memorial Complex. A little more than $3 million of its initial $6 million goal was raised through private donations to fund the memorial.
Brittney Weber, the board secretary of the memorial, said that in addition to honoring veterans, the goal is to educate young people about history.
"Education is a major thing in this entire project," Weber said. "Not only remembrance and memorializing our vets, but we also want to educate our youth about the different roles our military has played. Not just World War II, but different wars also."
The second phase will include a yet-to-be-built museum, which will be dedicated to Vietnam War veterans. A Navy SEAL Team Assault Boat was donated to the future museum. It's one of 22 that was built at Grafton's historic Boat Works during the Vietnam War.
"It's going to become the centerpiece of the Grafton Museum for Vietnam," Morrow said. "It ties together not just those who served in Vietnam and the war, but also the civilians who worked on those boats here when they were built here in Grafton."
A grand opening for the memorial will be at 9:30 a.m. June 6 at the Grafton Visitor Center and Museum.
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