10/1/09
Lake Havasu will soon have the first monument to be placed in the future Veterans Park. The Freedom Bridge Foundation has announced that Lake Havasu City has been chosen to receive a granite monument offered by a Massachusetts company.
Mark and Debra Blain, owners of Fireplace Mantels Etc., in Millbury, Mass., created the prototype 8-foot-tall statue in honor of American troops fighting overseas — depicting an American soldier in uniform standing in front of a stone U.S.A and waving American flag — and decided they wanted to give it away.
After watching the film "Taking Chance," in which Kevin Bacon plays a U.S. Marine bringing a fallen comrade home, the Blains decided they wanted to donate it to an area town that didn't have the funds on hand to build their own monument.
"That movie moved us so much that after the movie we said let's give it away to a deserving town or organization that would proudly display it," Debra Blain said.
Unfortunately, the town they offered it to ultimately declined it, so they invited cities anywhere in the U.S. to apply for the statue. Lake Havasu City was selected out of more than 300 applicants.
“The Freedom Bridge Foundation, through letters and phone calls, convinced the Blains and the selection committee that Lake Havasu City is earning the name of the most patriotic city in the U.S.,” said Margaret Nyberg, Freedom Bridge Foundation President. “We explained the ways in which we honor and pay tribute to all veterans, as well as police and fire personnel, and that we are creating a Memorial Walkway and Veterans Park to honor our troops and veterans. We promised that the statue would be treasured here.”
Plans are being worked on for transporting the statue, valued at $35,000, from Massachusetts to Lake Havasu City.
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