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Armed Forces Day to officially open new Veterans Memorial Park

The Lake Saint Louis Veterans Committee, in conjunction with Lake Saint Louis Parks Department, announced a ceremony to mark the opening of the new Veterans Memorial Park, with the Lake Saint Louis Civic Center campus at 200 Civic Center Dr., and will honor veterans of U.S. military service in an Armed Forces Day event.

Set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, the master of ceremonies will be Ralph Barrale who is the chairman of the Veterans Memorial Park Volunteer Committee.

Barrale spearheaded the effort to construct a memorial in Lake Saint Louis which will be dedicated to the service of military veterans.

Joining Barrale in the opening ceremonies will be: Lake Saint Louis Parks and Recreation Director Tim Vanatta and Bob Thompson, pastor emeritus, who will deliver the invocation.

At the request of the Veterans Committee, the city of Lake Saint Louis committed to providing the property for the memorial while the committee launched a fundraising effort and oversaw the design.

The May 17 Armed Forces Day commemoration will start as veterans of military service in Iraq, Christopher Pathenos and David Dinges, raise the U.S. flag.

After the Pledge of Allegiance and an Armed Forces flag ceremony, Board of Alderman President Harry Slyman will open the round of speeches.

Slyman will be followed by State Rep. Robert Onder (Dist. 13), U.S. Navy Admiral Dan Kloeppel (ret.) and Major General Robert Carrothers (ret.).

Other organizations contributing to the ceremony or providing assistance to the memorial project include: VFW Post 10350, American Legion Post 632, Boy Scouts of America Troop 972, O’Fallon Fire Department, Lake Saint Louis Fire Department, Lake Saint Louis Police Department, Lake Saint Louis Parks and Recreation Board, St. Charles County Ambulance District Base 9, Schnuck’s of Lake Saint Louis, Cole and Associates Architects, Cannon General Contractors, Lake Saint Louis Wal-Mart and The Meadows shopping center.

The Veterans Park will feature recently replaced plaques at the various viewing areas constructed around the perimeter of the memorial. Dissatisfaction with the wording of the original plaques prompted the Veterans Committee to vote for a change.

A U. S. Marine Corps veteran who had purchased sponsor-bricks as part of a fundraiser for the memorial had observed language on some of the plaques that could be viewed as editorial comment.

Lodging a complaint was Michael Force, acting as a military veteran and resident of Lake Saint Louis, not as an employee of the city of Lake Saint Louis. Force is chief of police.

Numerous area veterans registered a similar reaction with the Veterans Committee.

Of the original plaques that were featured at the memorial, one that drew the most dissatisfaction with the veterans listed the global war on terrorism as a mistake of the U.S. Military.

“This is not the appropriate place for this kind of message,” Force said. “I don’t have a problem with anyone’s opinion …but it needs to be in the right venue.”

According to Vanetta, the new plaques’ verbiage is sourced from information provided to the U.S. Congress.

For further information about the Veterans Committee, contact Barrale at 636-332-4696.