The Salem City Council was questioned Monday night by Angel Molenhour on why there has been no progress on a monument to honor veterans. She reminded the council they agreed to pursue the issue last fall when the names of those who served overseas in the National Guard were removed from city hall windows because they had started to peel.
“It’s been one year, and I haven’t heard about anything in the works to do this,” Molenhour said. “Maybe that’s because you couldn’t answer the big questions, so you chose to do nothing. Salem, Illinois, home of the G.I. Bill of Rights, has nothing to honor our own service men and women. I know there are many things to consider. From my perspective, we need to answer three questions: Who do we honor, how do we do it, and where do we do it?”
Molenhour suggested the Bryan Statue Park or the large entrance flag on the west side of the city might be good locations. She believes the best way to select those honored is to let families wanting to be included to purchase paver stones that would have the name of their loved one engraved.
Molenhour’s son has served in the military.
Mayor Nic Farley thanked Molenhour for her presentation and promised the issue would be revisited with hopes of finding a way of honoring vets.
