Plans move forward for plaque sales for Hartsville Veterans Memorial
By JIM FAILE
Brochures will soon begin circulating in the area publicizing opportunities for Hartsville area residents to purchase memorial plaques to be placed on the Hartsville Veterans Memorial.
The city’s Veterans Memorial Committee met and reviewed plans for the brochures and marketing effort.
The Veterans Memorial is currently under construction in Burry Park in downtown Hartsville.
When complete the structure will consist of five monuments each 10 feet, eight inches high and five feet wide. The monuments will be arranged in the shape of a pentagon with a flagpole in the center.
The outside of each monument wall will bear a bronze bas relief sculpture, each depicting scenes from five U.S. wars – World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf Wars (Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia). Memorial plaques purchased by residents to remember a veteran living or deceased will be placed on the inside of each wall. The veterans must have some ties to Hartsville or Darlington County.
The 4-by-9-inch black granite plaques will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
Together, the monuments have enough space to accommodate 420 of the plaques.
Each plaque will include the name of the veteran memorialized, his or her rank, branch of service and wars served in. Space will also be available for a photograph of the individual or one to two medals the person received while in the military for an additional charge.
Prices for the plaques will range from $295 each to $375, depending on the content of each plaque.
No more than one veteran will be included on a plaque. Applicants must provide proof of the veteran’s honorable discharge from the military (DD 214 form) or its equivalent.
The plaques are being sold to help pay for the cost of the memorial.
The bas relief sculptures were created by Greenville sculptor Charlie Pate, a native of Hartsville. They are currently in storage in Atlanta, Ga., awaiting shipment to Hartsville.
Once a limestone covering has been added to each of the five monuments, the sculptures will be installed.
Organizers are planning a Nov. 11 – Veterans Day - dedication date for the new memorial.
City officials say the new memorial will be the largest memorial of its kind in South Carolina.
The City of Hartsville Planning Office at 145 W. Carolina Ave. will be taking orders for the plaques. An architectural drawing of the memorial is on display there.
Anyone interested in information about the purchase of a plaque can call Sherrie Griggs at the planning office at 383-3009. Griggs said brochures, which include an order form, will be provided in interested individuals once the brochures are printed and ready for distribution.