Osmond Veterans Memorial to be unveiled soon

OSMOND — If everything goes as planned, Osmond will have a new veterans memorial display erected at Memorial Park north of the city auditorium by this time next year. The Sons of the American Legion Squadron 326 is the steering committee, with the direction of American Legion Post 326.

According to members of the service groups, the memorial will include the names of all Osmond veterans, past, present and future. A painting of the display will be unveiled during the Christmas Wishes program on Sunday, Dec. 9. The painting is by Ayden Ronspies, nephew of Sons of the American Legion member Todd Stonacek.

The estimated cost of the memorial is $65,000. The service groups will be holding some fund-raising events during the coming year with the goal to have the memorial completed by Veterans Day 2019. A thermometer-type graphic will be published on occasion to show progress of the fund-raising efforts.

Those who are currently serving in the military, or their families, are asked to contact the Sons of the American Legion at P.O. Box 181, Osmond, NE 68765, so that they may be included on the memorial.

Donations toward the memorial fund, which are tax deductible, are welcome and encouraged. The donations must be made payable to the Sons of the American Legion, with a designation to the memorial fund, and may be sent to Security Bank, P.O. Box 398, Osmond, NE.

If the estimated cost of the memorial is exceeded, the excess will go toward perpetual care and addition of names.