Sebring to dedicate veterans memorial at Grandview Cemetery

SEBRING ‒ A new memorial to veterans at Sebring Grandview Cemetery is almost done.

Called the "Sebring Grandview Cemetery Veterans Memorial," the project has been spearheaded by Sebring Post. No. 76 of the American Legion Riders. Multiple businesses, organizations and individuals have donated their time and resources to create the tribute.

The tribute is prominent at the Johnson Road entrance, marked by seven flags that represent the various branches of the U.S. military. It also has a paved pathway. A granite monument − which honors past, present and future military service members − is not yet complete. Officials from Sebring Post 76 say it will be in time for a Dec. 9 event.

Ed Baddeley Sr., director of the Sebring Post 76 American Legion Riders, said the group has been working on the project for two years, and raised $30,000 for it. The actual construction started a few months ago, with assistance from cemetery sexton Bob Rinehart and others.

"The wife and I, and my nephew, a veteran in Air Force, went back here (one day) and looked at the veterans section. We didn't even know it was here. We stumbled onto it. I just thought something needs to be done. He said if we made it nicer, he would be buried here," Baddeley said.

Rinehart said he took the project to the cemetery board for approval, and got it.

Baddeley's wife, Janet, kept the project on track. She said the community, and individual donors, helped get them to the finish line. The flagpoles replaced a line of thick pine trees that shadowed the veterans section and obscured some gravesites.

"If you would've been here to watch them raise those flag poles, it was amazing," she said.

Among area companies involved in the project were ACT Excavating, Rick's Stump Grinding, Another Chance Septic, Lya Concrete and R.W. Sidley Inc. Those who donated $500 or more will have their names on engraved in the monument.

Janet Baddeley said the organizers are hoping to have the entire memorial completed before a "Laying of the Wreaths" ceremony at 10 a.m. Dec. 9 at Grandview Cemetery.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sebring has a new veterans memorial at Grandview Cemetery