by JIM FAILE

Greenville sculptor Charlie Pate had only words of praise for the work that has been done so far on the planned veterans� memorial in Hartsville�s Burry Park.

�I�m very pleased. I was real happy with its presence from all areas of the park,� Pate, a Hartsville native who along with his son Charles, also a sculptor, created the five bas relief bronze panels that will adorn the new memorial.

Each panel depicts scenes of U.S. military service members in action in one of five major military conflicts, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf Wars (Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia).

The Pates were in Hartsville Monday meeting with members of the city�s Veterans� Memorial Committee and getting a first-hand look at the work that has already been done on the memorial.

�This has been one of the most fun things I�ve ever worked on,� said Charlie Pate, a 1975 graduate of Hartsville High School. �I love Hartsville. It�s been a project that�s really come from the heart. We�re both very happy with the site and where it�s going.�

The foundation is in place and the five massive monuments that will hold the bronze sculptures on one side and memorial plaques on the other side are in place and awaiting the addition of cast stone.

Each monument stands 10 feet, 8 inches tall and 5 feet wide. The monuments are arranged in the shape of a pentagon. A 30-foot flagpole will rise from the center of the pentagon.

Once the bronze panels, each weighing 800 to 1,000 pounds, are placed on the monument walls, each monument will weigh from four to five tons.

�It gives off a great presence,� Charlie Pate said.

Charles Pate said based on the work and plans he has seen so far, the finished project will rival any memorial he�s seen anywhere else.

�It will be tastefully done,� said Bobby Goodson, architect for the project. �It will be something that is tradition oriented.�

Goodson said the memorial will be illuminated at night with a professional lighting system. �It will be striking at night,� he said.

�I think it�s going to be something that we�re going to be real proud of,� said Warner DeHart, former Veterans Affairs officer for Darlington County, member of the memorial committee and a driving force behind the memorial project.

DeHart said he was struck by the Pates’ attention to detail in sculpting the relief panels. �The detail is very intense, and there�s a lot of detail in each panel,� he said.

Charles Pate said veterans who watched work on the panels progress helped ensure accuracy in the details. One World War II veteran pointed out that an American flag in an early version of the World War II panel depicted the flag�s current 50-star pattern. In World War II, the flag had only 48 stars arranged in a different pattern than the current one.

Charlie Pate said the stories he has heard from veterans about their wartime experiences have proven to be one of the most moving aspects of the project.

He spoke of one veteran of the battle of Peleliu in the Pacific in 1944 who talked about his experiences. �He lost a lot of men there,� Charlie said. �He asked me if I was going to put him in the sculpture. I told him it wasn�t going to be individual portraits. He said that was good. He said don�t put captains in it. He wanted it to be about the soldiers.�

�Its artistic value is what will be lasting,� Goodson said. �It will call you back again and again because you won�t be able to absorb it all at one time.�

Pate said the bronzes are now in his gallery awaiting shipment to Hartsville.

Goodson said the bronzes should be installed around mid-September.

The committee is organizing a dedication for the memorial, which will be held on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. to mark the hour at which World War I officially ended.

Organizers are hoping to arrange a fly-over of F-16 aircraft as a part of the event.

The city is selling 4-inch-by-9-inch black granite memorial plaques that will be mounted on the back of each monument to remember veterans living or deceased. The plaques are being sold on a first-come first-served basis to help pay for the memorial.

The memorial will have space to accommodate 420 such plaques.

The deadline for purchasing a plaque to have it installed in time for the Nov. 11 dedication is Aug. 20.

Each plaque will include the name of the veteran, his or her rank, branch of service and the conflict in which he or she served. Space will be available for an additional charge for a photograph of the veteran and one to two medals awarded to the individual.

Prices for the plaques range from $295 to $375, depending on the content of each plaque. The veterans listed on the plaques must have some tie to Hartsville or Darlington County.

No more than one veteran will be included on a plaque, and applicants must provide proof of the veteran�s honorable discharge from the military (DD 214 form) or its equivalent.

The Hartsville Planning Office at 145 W. Carolina Ave. is taking orders for the plaques. An architectural drawing of the memorial is on display there.

Anyone interested in information about the plaques can call Sherrie Griggs at (843) 383-3009 to receive a brochure, which includes an order form. Brochures can also be picked up at the planning office.