Vet council fundraising for Global War on Terrorism monument

Megan Becker, Chillicothe Gazette
·2 min read

CHILLICOTHE― The Ross County Veterans Council is fundraising to create a monument to honor the Ross County men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces during the Global War on Terrorism.

Historians are using the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2001, as the start date and the final flights from Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2021, as the ending date of the war. During this time thousands of Ross County residents served in the war and four servicemen were killed in action:

The proposed Global War on Terrorism monument will be a Fallen Soldier Battle Cross that resembles a soldier's rifle inside a soldier's boots with a helmet on top The monument will be placed in the southwest corner of the Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard.
The proposed Global War on Terrorism monument will be a Fallen Soldier Battle Cross that resembles a soldier's rifle inside a soldier's boots with a helmet on top The monument will be placed in the southwest corner of the Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard.

  • Gavin Colburn served in the U.S. Army and died in 2005 in Iraq.

  • Aaron Reed served in the U.S. Marine Corps and died in 2005 in Iraq.

  • Brad Clemmons served in the U.S. Air Force and died in 2006 in Iraq.

  • Josh Gire served in the U.S. Army and died in 2011 in Afghanistan.

The Veterans Council is hoping to honor the fallen soldiers before it's too late.

The monument will be placed in the southwest corner of the Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard. Johna Pulver with the Ross County Veterans Service Office helped design the proposed monument.

Johna Pulver becomes emotional as she arranges the boots of fallen soldiers for the Eyes of Freedom display is set up in the armory at Yoctangee Park in 2021. The Eyes of Freedom exhibit honors those men lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Johna Pulver becomes emotional as she arranges the boots of fallen soldiers for the Eyes of Freedom display is set up in the armory at Yoctangee Park in 2021. The Eyes of Freedom exhibit honors those men lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The design includes a Fallen Soldier Battle Cross that resembles a soldier's rifle inside a soldier's boots with a helmet on top. The statue will be on top of a rectangular podium and each side of the podium will honor one of the four casualties of the Global War on Terrorism.

Ross County has four monuments to honor war casualties:

  • World War I monument by Bicentennial Bell Tower at Yoctangee Park Entrance, with 62 names

  • World War II in Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard, with 207 names

  • Korean War monument in Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard, with 25 names

  • Vietnam War monument in Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard, with 23 names

Former U.S. Army Ranger Lt. Col. Bob Leach is working on a book detailing the stories of local veterans who died in service from Word War I to the modern era. He hopes to publish his book once the Global War on Terrorism monument is completed. Then, he hopes to advocate for a Spanish-American War memorial.

"Our city and our county have dropped the ball on doing something to recognize, we had at least three soldiers who were killed in the Spanish-American War," Leach said. "Spanish-American War soldiers have not yet gotten the recognition they deserve from the local veterans community."

Leach said additional funds from the Global War on Terrorism monument fundraiser will be used towards a Spanish-American War monument.

Donations for the monument can be made by mail to the Ross County Veterans Council at c/o Veterans Service Office, 475 Western Ave, Suite C in Chillicothe, Ohio 45601-2288. Write "GWT Monument" in the memo line.

Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Fundraising for Global War on Terrorism monument in Ross County