The founding committee of the original monument filed dissolution papers with the State of Kansas on June 30, 1995. A new committee was formed April 14, 2018 and the Salina Saline County War Memorial Inc. organization status was reinstated by the Kansas Secretary of State. The previous committee documented Saline County military servicemen deaths from the Civil War in 1861 to the Persian Gulf War ending in 1992. Citizens of the community purchased bricks as part of the fundraising that were used to outline the walkways. The brick walkway with inscribed lettering of Veteran’s names became known as the “Walk of Honor”. Continued interest in purchasing bricks and the need to continue documentation of further wars and conflicts into the future made expansion of the memorial site necessary.
The new design features a symmetrical addition to the East and West of the original monument. Eight-sided concrete benches with joining walkways will provide plenty of seating. Black granite panels above the seats complete the octagon structures which resemble the original monument. Documentation of military actions or other pertinent historical events will be etched on the granite panels. Many of the panels will be blank as well as the bricks along the walkways leaving the opportunity to add inscriptions many decades from now. The SSCWM organization will be perpetual, never ending, to provide military history and also honor those that serve far into the future.
Stan Britt William Vinyard Rachel Hinde-Constantino Ben Vidricksen II
Committee Members
Chuck Delaney - Chaplin Jim Cole – Advisor (from 1990s committee) Carol Williams – Advisor (from 1990s committee) Jennifer Toelle – Historian Gary Keil Bruce Richardson