Veterans group plans Opha May Johnson courthouse monument

Aug. 28—A local veterans group is planning a courthouse monument for Kokomo native Opha May Johnson, the U.S.'s first female Marine.

The Howard County Veterans Memorial Corporation, headed by Vietnam War veteran Jerry Paul, is planning a more than $100,000 monument to be placed on the northwest corner of the Howard County Courthouse in honor of Johnson.

The group was granted approval Aug. 21 from the Howard County Commissioners by a 2-0 vote to place the monument on that part of the courthouse lawn, near the intersection of West Walnut and North Buckeye streets.

Commissioner Jeff Lipinski, R-District 1, said the county would very likely contribute financially to the monument, but the three-person board did not formally commit to any specific amount.

Paul said he is seeking $10,000 from both the city of Kokomo and the county.

The proposed monument includes three separate, staggered walls, decorative landscaping and a bench.

The first wall will be 7 feet tall and feature a portrait of Johnson.

The second wall will be slightly taller than the first one and feature a biography of Johnson etched onto black granite.

The third wall will be the tallest at 11 feet and include a solar powered Marine emblem that will light up.

The memorial will be sculpted by renowned sculptor Benjamin Victor, who also sculpted the Women's Legacy Memorial on the northeast corner of the courthouse square and the Blue/Gold Star Family Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park (formerly Darrough Chapel Park).

Paul said he believes he can have the monument complete for a cost of around $110,000.

The Vietnam veteran said he has secured the monument being featured as a Patronicity crowdfunding project. That opens the project up to a $50,000 matching grant if it can raise $50,000.

Paul said he has an anonymous donor willing to pony up $10,000 if both the city and county contribute $10,000. That's $30,000 of the $50,000 needed, and Paul said he's had talks with the Community Foundation of Howard County for them to possibly donate to the project as well.

If all that goes through as planned, Paul thinks it will be pretty easy for the organization to raise the remaining amount to receive the matching grant. The organization plans on beginning to formally fundraise for the project next month.

"I'm asking you to have the same faith in me as you have from day one," Paul said to the commissioners, referring to the handful of monument projects he has led to completion.

The commissioners were on board for the memorial, except for Commissioner Jack Dodd, R-District 2.

Dodd abstained from voting on allowing the organization to build the memorial on the courthouse square because there is already a recently installed monument dedicated to Johnson at the Kokomo American Legion Golf Course.

"It's a very nice monument," Dodd said of the one at the Legion golf course.

In November, American Legion Post 6 dedicated a granite memorial to Johnson. It sits between the ninth and 10th hole near the Legion building. The day before the unveiling of the monument, the Marine Corps Reserves building at Grissom Air Reserve Base was renamed the Sergeant Opha May Johnson Marine Corps Reserve Center.

Paul said he believes the monument at the Legion is nice but that he believes Johnson deserves a bigger, "better" memorial.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.