Honoring Those Who Served

Almost 500 veterans are buried in the Britton Cemetery, including 12 that were killed in action. As someone who has researched and worked on cemetery matters for years, that fact struck Marie Marlow, Britton’s long-time finance manager. Even more concerning to Marlow was that these departed soldiers do not have anything to memorialize them at the cemetery. A few years back, Marlow began working on a project to rectify that problem.

A significant part of Marlow’s job the last several years has been working to improve cemetery records. In the process, she says she began keeping track of all the veterans in the cemetery. Marlow, who has a long family history of navy men, knew that these veterans should be recognized.

“First, I ordered flags for the graves of those killed in action,” she explains. But she still wanted more. “I brought up the idea of a veterans memorial to city council. They were interested but it didn’t go anywhere for a while.”

Later, down the road, she was talking with Mike Kraft, the commander of the local American Legion. When Marlow floated the idea of a vets memorial at the cemetery, Kraft was enthusiastic about the idea. Though there is a small memorial in front of the Marshall County Courthouse, he too could envision something more substantial.

Marlow noted that when Kim Roehr and Shane Storley joined the Cemetery Board, the ball really began rolling in earnest. The group started to look at designs and other town’s memorials as they planned their own. They eventually came up with a design. “After we formulated our design, the folks at Scott’s Lumber used their software to draw it up,” explained Marlow.

The design they decided upon features six five-foot statues of soldiers, one representing each branch of the military. Each soldier will be situated on a 24-inch pedestal and each will be featured with the respective branch’s seal. The statues will be laid out in a half moon on a cement pad with a low brick retaining wall. There will be a flag in the middle.

The memorial will sit on the east side of the small chapel in the cemetery, facing the highway. Roehr and Marlow added that it will be close to one of the cemetery roads and handicap accessible with a paved sidewalk leading up to it.

The people responsible for the project are excited that it is finally becoming a reality. “These veterans deserve to be recognized and honored, especially when you see what they often go through during and after their service,” said Roehr.

Kraft is anticipating the memorial as well. “Having a place of honor for our veterans is important for a community,” he said. “The Veteran’s Memorial will be more than an area of remembrance to those who have served for our daily freedoms. It will be a place where anyone can go for thought and prayer. A place of reflection for all. I felt my role on this committee was to assure that all branches of our military would be recognized and honored.”

The hope is for the memorial to be completed by July 4th of 2023.

Fundraising efforts are now underway. The memorial will cost around $60,000. The board says that the public’s support is much appreciated. So far, over $2,300 has been pledged to the project with a substantial donation for a local group also in the works.

If people want to donate, they can contact Britton City Hall at 605-448-5721 or mail a check to the city at PO Box 126, Britton SD, 57430.