A proposal to build a Vietnam veterans’ memorial in Kewanee gained traction at Monday’s city council meeting.
The memorial, proposed by local Vietnam veteran Dan Currier, was first presented at the end of the year to the Kewanee Dist. 229 School Board.
But the idea received a cool reception based on a number of factors that administrators said would make it difficult to place on the high school campus.
The memorial would incude two six-foot granite slabs and a brick path in front of it with the names of Kewanee soldiers who served in the war.
City officials said they were not against the idea of building the shrine in the city’s Memorial Park, located at city hall, but deferred the matter until they could consult with leaders of the Kewanee Veteran’s Council.
“It looks like a great idea and a nice concept,” said Councilman Mike Yaklich, “but we need to make sure we’ve talked to our military service organizations (before proceeding).”
Right now there are 103 names under consideration for inclusion in the memorial.
“And there’s space on the bricks for more,” City Manager Gary Bradley said.