Names to be added to Florence Veterans Park Wall of Honor

The Florence Veterans Park will unveil an additional 144 veterans’ names on the Wall of Honor on June 14.

The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. with a formal Military Retreat Ceremony. These names are in addition to the first wall containing the names of 216 Pee Dee veterans unveiled on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Florence Veterans Park is located adjacent to Florence Civic Center’s lower level parking lot at 3300 Radio Road, Florence.

In addition, June 14 is Flag Day and the birthday of the U.S. Army, which was founded June 14, 1775. Plans are under way to honor the nation’s flag and pay tribute to the Army and soldiers on their 234th birthday as a part of the unveiling ceremony.

The public is encouraged to attend. There will be brief remarks, music and tributes to the flag and the military flags of all the branches of service. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, umbrellas and bottled water or soft drinks.

A monument by Darlington Monument Works recognizing prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action was dedicated March 7, presented by Rolling Thunder, Chapter 4, of Florence. Rolling Thunder is a national group whose mission is to publicize POW-MIA issues. It’s a nonprofit organization and its members are volunteers.

One side of the monument reads “Never Forget” as it recognizes soldiers from World War I, World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. The other side pictures a bald eagle with an American flag in the background. The eagle is holding dog tags in his talons, one with POW on it and the other with MIA on it.

Florence Veterans Park was dedicated Nov. 11. It features a bronzed eagle sculpture atop three 24-foot-tall pillars and a Wall of Honor displaying veterans’ names. The eagle sculpture was created by Florence resident Alex Palkovich, who said the eagle represents the United States and the snake in its talons represents the country’s enemies.

The park is worth $4 million, including the $900,000 land donation for the site by former U.S. Rep. Ed Young and the Byrd estate. It is financed mostly through the city’s hospitality tax collections.

The park was built by FBi Construction, while Hatchell Landscape Inc. performed landscaping and irrigation and Brown Memorials is placing tiles on the Wall of Honor.

Tiles on the Florence Veteran’s Park Wall of Honor are for sale in honor or memory of veterans. The 4-by-9-inch tiles cost $250 to $325 each, and proceeds are used on the park.

Information regarding securing plaques to recognize veterans will be available at the June 14 ceremony. To buy a memorial, call the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce at (843) 665-0515 or Brown Memorials at (843) 662-6378 or (843) 667-6705.