History: Glide Veteran’s Memorial
2000 was the birth of a new millennium and a dream. A small group of visionaries, Vietnam-Era veteran, Roberto Dominquez and the dedicated members of the Glide Veterans of Foreign Wars Post no. 4316 and Ladies’ Auxiliary, worked to give shape and substance to their dream. The vision was to construct a memorial honoring the men and women of Douglas County who had
, or were currently serving their country in the United States armed forces. It would be a perpetual memorial, expanding to include future generations of veterans. The vision was brick walls engraved with the names of veterans encircling a large monolithic stone. After an extensive search an 8,000 lb granite stone, measuring 3’x 5’x 6’ was selected from a rock quarry in the mountains surrounding the North Umpqua River drainage. It was laboriously moved and Dominquez spent the next 6 months cutting and chiseling the stone to its present half finished form before finally declaring it completed. The sculptor explained, “the stone symbolizes the unfinished lives sacrificed by young soldiers who die in war”. The memorial’s heart and focal point is that granite stone. Dominquez etched these words in stone for all to see and remember:
"A Matter of Honor"
Under the leadership of Post Commander Harold Peterson, Sr. Vice Commander Robert Cousins, Adjutant Quartermaster Richard West, and Service Officer Robert Schaefer, Phase 1 of the Glide Veterans Memorial was built. The initial cost was about $8,000 in materials with the labor donated by local volunteers and Wolf Creek Job Corps students. The Memorial’s initial phase was built and dedicated on June 13, 2000. One year later, the VFW followed up with Phase 2 , Operation Red Brick. They built the first two walls of the Memorial with 200 bricks containing the names of Glide’s local war veterans, their service branches, and wars fought with dates served. Since then, the number of Memorial bricks has more than doubled, now containing about 440 bricks with two new walls added. Later a “Rosie the Riveter” plaque was added. In 2003 the site was dedicated as a National Garden Club Blue Star Memorial to honor service men and women. The VFW post dissolved in 2005, and the Memorial became its only remaining legacy and most significant accomplishment. Stewardship was passed on to Bill DeGroot in 2009. DeGroot enlisted the help of Dan Quinn, of Shamrock Garden Nursery, to begin a second transformation of the Memorial. The new vision was a landscape of beautifully colored flowers. The revitalized landscaping adds beauty and solemnity to the site. It is a reminder to the living, that life is beautiful and fragile; that we owe honor and respect to those who gave their last full measure for our freedom.
