Mayor Shawn McCaskill announced that the city plans to break ground on a Veterans Memorial in 2025.
The Veterans Day event was with a backdrop of the America’s Wall of Honor, a traveling wall that originates from Omaha, Nebraska. The wall features the logos for the Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army, National Guard, firefighters, law enforcement and the presidential seal.
How it happened
Four years ago, Southlake resident and U.S. Army veteran Milan Georgia met McCaskill and former Mayor John Huffman for coffee. McCaskill recalled that Georgia broached the subject of looking into a Veterans Memorial.
“From that little meeting, it all happened organically. Now we are ready to push dirt and build something next year,” McCaskill said. “It is exciting.”
McCaskill said the Veterans Memorial is a "top priority" and the time is right for the addition in Southlake.
What you need to know
During a Feb. 20 work session, city staff announced the recruitment of community veterans to be on the Veteran Memorial Focus Group. The Southlake City Council approved 15 residents to the group in May, tasking them with gathering ideas for a future project.
“Our first meeting, my only idea or thought was to go big,” McCaskill said. “What you will see in the coming months is they will go big and they will go very big on our Veterans Memorial in Southlake.”
The details
Robert Briggs, Southlake Deputy Director of Economic Development and Tourism, has been leading the charge for the city and working with the focus group.
Briggs, a veteran, meets with the group to review ideas and visions for the memorial’s design.
“We want the community to remember the sacrifices that were made for our freedoms,” Georgia said in a news release. “This memorial will be a place where veterans are not just honored but recognized for their ongoing contributions.”
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Talley said the group had done tours of other Veterans Memorials in the Dallas-Fort Worth areas to gather ideas of what could be used in Southlake.
What else?
McCaskill said the focus members originally asked questions about the cost, the size and the location. McCaskill said the city officials told the group to just focus on what they would want in a memorial.
Talley, who said her father was in the Air Force, said the focus group had expressed interest in having an education component to a memorial.
“We don’t have details yet but we will have a lot of ideas,” McCaskill said. “We will hear early next year the recommendations.”
Also of note
During the closing portions of the Veterans Day ceremony, McCaskill announced the first-ever Southlake Veteran of the Year.
That honor went to Georgia, who was the guest speaker for the event.
“This is something we just started; it is hard to pick to pick just one,” McCaskill said. “It is not for the work they have done, but they continue to do. We got a long list and I will be way past being Mayor by the time we run out of names.”
Georgia earned two Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts and 17 Air Medals for his job as a helicopter gunship pilot in the Vietnam War.
During his speech, Georgia urged those in attendance to keep pushing to make Veterans Day a national holiday where employees have the day off work to pay respect to veterans.
“I’m here to thank and acknowledge all veterans for being involved in something greater than themselves,” Georgia said. “Their service to this country.”
