ROCKY HILL — A statewide veterans memorial will feature an amphitheater, a remembrance wall and ample parking.
The state chose the design, which was submitted by landscape artists Dean Adam Johnson and Robert Schechinger Jr., both of Collinsville, from 12 proposals. The memorial will be located on a grassy parcel adjacent to the Col. Raymond F. Gates Memorial Cemetery on West Street.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said an advisory group has been planning for a statewide memorial for months. While several cities and towns have their own veteran’s memorials, there is no single statewide memorial, she said.
That will soon change.
It is important to recognize veterans and give them and their families a meaningful spot to reflect, Rell said. Memorials draw people and bring communities together, she said.
“They certainly do deserve it,” Rell said of the state’s 1.6 million veterans.
Before the memorial can be built, the governor said money must be raised to pay for it. The state provided $100,000 in seed money to support the project’s initial design and construction, but the project is expected to cost about $1.2 million.
A nonprofit foundation has been established to collect money for the project. To make a donation, checks and money orders should be made payable to Connecticut State Veterans Memorial Inc. and mailed to: Connecticut State Veterans Memorial Inc., c/o Rockville Bank, P.O. Box 660, Rockville, CT, 06066.