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Garner Veterans Memorial honors local veterans

By Paul Tambasco
News Editor

When Garner Veterans Memorial Committee planners discussed the type of project that would work in Lake Benson Park, one idea came up over and over.

Garner Veterans Memorial illustration courtesy of Clearscapes

The memorial had to be where the public would encounter it frequently, so it could be a constant reminder of the sacrifices of local service men and women. The memorial should not be just for special occasions or out of view, they said.

More than a month after a design was revealed, the consensus in plain sight is that architects hit a home run.

The design

Ironically, a home run means keeping things inside the park.

Clearscapes, a Raleigh-based architectural firm, won a design competition organized by the volunteer memorial committee. The firm’s concept incorporates an existing walking path near the park’s entrance.

The proposed design sits on a 6,000-square-foot site once reserved for the infamous white deer’s shelter. It features vertical stone panels representing each of the 24 decades of American history dating back to the 1770s. Inscribed on the panels is a history of military conflicts from each decade. The more years of conflict, the closer the panel will be to the walkway.

“Anyone who jogs by the site will be impacted, even if they didn’t specifically go there to visit,” said Mon Peng Yueh, a Clearscapes designer and one of nine who helped develop the winning concept.

For the six decades where no fighting occurred, Yueh’s firm replaced the panels with a walkway that extends into a built-in stone bench at each end. The seating, however, is designed for contemplation, not comfort.

“We didn’t want it to be a picnic space,” Yueh said. “The design is meant to be a reminder that war is not something to be taken lightly. We want you to know that you’ve entered a sacred space.”

The winning firm and designer

In late October, the memorial committee announced the top three entries from a competition that collected 23 renderings from licensed architects around the state. A panel of independent jurors selected the finalists. Yueh’s firm was the top choice. The site can handle a steady stream of visitors or a crowd for a larger public event, Yueh said.

Clearscapes has designed other public projects nearby including the Clayton Center, Zebulon’s refurbished municipal headquarters and the new Raleigh Convention Center. The group is currently working on a visitor center for a veterans memorial in Fayetteville.

Founded by an artist and an architect, the firm’s pedigree lends itself to designs that blend form with function. The Garner design is an example of this approach, Yueh said. The panels create a quiet location inside the memorial for visitors to reflect by blocking out the sights and sounds of Buffaloe Road nearby. At the same time, the panels educate visitors by showing them how military participation has varied in intensity in past decades.

“It is an outdoor art piece as well as an outdoor architecture piece,” she said.

The style also helped overcome one early challenge in the project: how to create a design that will honor service men and women in future wars, Yueh said.

“Most times, these memorials are dedicated to soldiers from the past,” she said. Veterans memorials tend to focus on one particular conflict as well.

In response, designers organized the space into a virtual timeline that chronicles conflicts from the Revolutionary War up until the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the eastern edge, the memorial opens up into a sort of plaza with two panels framing a large oak tree, a symbol of the future’s potential.

What the future holds

The designs are still just a concept for now, planners said. Details are likely to change once the committee hires an architect to bring the design to life, said Faye Gardner, a member of the memorial committee, the nonprofit group of local veterans, leaders and volunteers that is leading the effort to create the landmark.

The organization will start fundraising next month, she said. In the meantime, they are developing a strategy for raising about $500,000, the estimated cost of the project.

They plan to offer commemorative bricks for sale to the public. The bricks will be inscribed with the name of a service man and woman of the buyer’s choice. The bricks will cost between $150 and $200, Gardner said. Selling between 2,000 and 2,500 bricks will help cover project costs.

But the group needs $200,000 in seed money first.

“We are not ready to take money for bricks yet because once you do that, people want to know, ‘When is my brick going down?’” Gardner said. “We’re not quite there yet.”

After several years of stalled discussions, the memorial committee refocused about a year ago when Gardner and local architect Harold Annis took the lead. The goal remained the same: to create an educational project that would tap into the community’s deep-seated patriotism.

“A lot of folks who are not veterans are looking for a way to be patriotic,” Gardner said.

Town Council member Buck Kennedy believes people will fully support the project. Kennedy and the Council donated the park land for the memorial. The design captures the unassuming efforts of those it remembers, he said.

“It is what most veterans are. … They are everyday people,” Kennedy said.

Yueh is proud of the final design too, though she has added motivation for making the project impressive: She lives in town.

Designing projects in small towns such as Garner is most rewarding because they have the most impact — especially if you happen to walk by it regularly.

“It’s a privilege to work on it, but it will be neat to visit some time and say, ‘Hey, I had a hand in putting that together,’” Yueh said.

Related articles:

• Garner Veterans’ Memorial holds architectural design competition

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