By Christine Bryant
Staff Writer
This is what organizers hope the Reynoldsburg High School Fallen Heroes Memorial will look like after a renovation.
As the nation prepares to mark another Veterans Day, volunteers with a Reynoldsburg American Legion Post are working to make sure local soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten.
Since 2008, a memorial that sits outside Reynoldsburg High School’s Livingston campus has paid tribute to fallen soldiers who once called this community home. However, over the years, upkeep of the memorial dwindled.
Members of Reynoldsburg Post 798 have now volunteered to be stewards of the site, which can be seen from Livingston Avenue. The organization needs the public’s help to ensure all Reynoldsburg High School alumni who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and died in action are honored.
Pete Margaritis, commander of the post, said the site will be renovated and modified to include two flagpoles and an obelisk that will list alumni from all wars who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country while in uniform. Those killed in action will have an asterisk next to their names.
The site will serve as a tranquil place of remembrance for community members as well, he said.
Since taking over maintenance of the site, volunteers have cleaned it, removed weeds and shrubbery that had overgrown and replaced the mulch, said George Mussi, the post’s finance officer and chairman of the renovation committee.
Currently, eight fallen soldiers are recognized, though volunteers are combing through records to ensure all Reynoldsburg High School alumni who served and died while in uniform are recognized.
“That’s our biggest challenge,” Mussi said. “We’re going back to the Civil War era, searching through records. We’re asking anyone – families and friends – that if they know of anyone to let us know.”
Mussi estimates it will take between $10,000 and $12,000 to finish the project, and hopes to have it completed by Veterans Day 2017. Community donations and volunteers who wish to assist are appreciated, he said.
Donations may be sent to RHS Fallen Heroes Memorial, George Mussi Jr., chairman, American Legion Reynoldsburg Post 798, P.O. Box 58, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068.
Donors who contribute $500 or more will be recognized in a special ceremony at city hall.
There are also plans to install pavers or memorial bricks at the site. Family members are encouraged to purchase a paver for a tax-deductible donation of $100 to formally recognize family members or friends who are Reynoldsburg High School alumni and served in the military. The pavers will be laid in the walkway to the memorial.
“An example would be someone who was in the service and graduated from Reynoldsburg High School, served in the service, and his family wants to buy a paver to honor him,” Mussi said.
For information on donating to the renovation project or providing information on Reynoldsburg High School graduates who should be honored, contact Mussi at (614) 561-0055.
