Deadline extended to submit names for New Century Veterans Memorial

The deadline to submit applications for veterans’ names to be engraved on the Young County New Century Veterans Memorial was Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, but that date will be extended to the end of the year, Board Chairman Reta McCallum said. The organization will not be advertising that applications will be accepted after Nov. 11, but will be accepting applications until year’s end, because the company will have to begin the plaques and engravings Feb. 1, McCallum said. So far the organization has $40,000 towards the project and have set two goals for the future. “To look for people that want to either pledge donations, want to get the plaques because we still have plaques that we are selling and we can invoice for those even after the first part of the year, or want to get bricks because we need to get another $30,000 by Dec. 1 to be able to meet our deadline…(this) tentatively, is where things stand,” McCallum said. The organization has enough for a down payment on the memorial wall, but they can’t use the tax identification number of the NCVM foundation until they have enough to cover the contract. Donations may be mailed to the New Century Veterans Memorial Project, PO Box 925, Graham, TX 76450 or you may drop a check off at the Veterans Service Office at the Young County Courthouse. Any veteran or active duty military member who was inducted or served on or after Jan. 1, 2001 and whose DD214 or official documentation shows his or her home address at the time of entry or Home of Record as Young County is eligible to be named on the wall. An application to be named can be found within this newspaper and must be submitted with a copy of the veteran’s DD214 or validating documentation. On the application you must submit the name to be engraved, the military branch of the veteran, the date they entered active duty, the contact information of the person submitting the form and any comments that the submitter wishes to share. The form must be sent with the the DD214 or official validation documents to New Century Veterans Memorial Project, PO Box 925, Graham TX 76450. For those that don’t meet the criteria to be on the wall, an option is available to purchase an engraved brick for $75, with the active duty military or veteran’s name and military branch which will be placed as part of a brick sidewalk memorial on the grounds of the Young County Courthouse. “Right now we are really focused on selling the plaques and the bricks so that we can sign the contract, so they can order the granite and get all of that done,” McCallum said. On Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, the organization will be hosting a ‘thank you’ lunch for veterans with United Supermarkets in Graham. United will provide the location and the veterans from the organization will serve donated hotdogs, chips and soft drinks to any veterans and their families. A sample of the brick will be available inside United on this day and veterans can use the opportunity to sign up to be a part of the wall. For more information about the memorial, contact McCallum at 817-300-3777 or at rm@ccrinc.biz or contact Project Vice Chairman Larry Hamilton at 940-532-1118 and at graham veteransmemorial@gmail.com.