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Seven bricks to be added to veterans memorial

Daily News - 9/23/2017

Seven more military veterans will be recognized with bricks placed in their honor in the Warren County Courthouse courtyard at 8 a.m. Tuesday, just before the 9 a.m.Warren County Fiscal Court meeting.

Fiscal Court Clerk Brenda Hale said the brick-laying ceremonies are held from April through September, so this will be the last one of the year.

Started in 2004, the display of large and small bricks honoring veterans has grown to include 40 of the large 16-inch square bricks and a similar number of the smaller rectangular bricks that are about 8 inches by 4 inches. They are placed in the courtyard surrounding a large statue honoring the various branches of the U.S. military.

Hale said people wishing to honor living or deceased veterans may purchase a large brick for $1,000 or a small one for $100.

"It makes for a very pretty courtyard," Hale said. "When you have several veterans in one family, a large brick is a great way to honor them."

Hale said the money goes back into the county's general fund and helps pay for the upkeep of the courtyard display.

"The courtyard was funded by the citizens through Warren County Fiscal Court," Magistrate Doug Gorman said. "It's open 365 days a year. I think it's an extremely important ceremony for us to have to honor veterans, both those who are living and those who have passed on."

Both American Legion Post 23 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1298 are involved in the brick-laying ceremony and both were part of the Veterans Liaison Committee that established the brick display.

"I've gone to each one since I've been a magistrate," Gorman said. "It's always an honor. It's a very humbling ceremony to be a part of."