by
Frederick W. Seibold
CDR, USNR (Ret)

Photographs by Virginia Dahms ©1998 & ©2000

The Bement Veterans Memorial is a tribute to veterans throughout the nation, but in particular, to those who have lived and worked in the greater Bement area. The story of the Bement Veterans Memorial is a story of dedication, patriotism, and community pride.

Volunteers in Bement, Ivesdale, and Milmine, Illinois researched over 2,000 names in 5 ½ months, starting with the French-Indian War, so the names could be engraved on the Bement Area Veterans’ Memorial which was dedicated 4 July 1998. The Bement memorial is the first veterans’ memorial to list all the names of veterans throughout the entire history of a locality, approximately the Bement school district. Sharon Zindars of Bement headed the name search, identifying veterans from the Mexican-American War to the present day.

The Memorial Committee, co-chaired by Harry Porter and Gerald Manint of Bement, raised $55,000 in seven months to build the memorial, which has six black granite stones 6-feet tall, 3-feet wide, and 6-inches thick for the 2000 names, grouped generally by conflict and arranged so more names can be added if new information is found.

In the center is a larger black granite stone, with the famous Marine Iwo Jima flagraising picture on the side toward Illinois Highway 105, and an American Eagle in defensive flight on the other side of the main stone, representing the veterans’ defense of our national ideals.

The name search was helped by detailed records of the Piatt County Historical and Genealogical Society. Piatt County, from the Civil War through the Viet Nam conflict, sent more service persons to war per capita than any other Illinois county. The careful record keeping enabled the identification of over 2000 veterans from a small area in east central Illinois having a present population of about 2400.

The lone Confederate veteran of the Civil War was included. The 6 names from the French and Indian War could not be proven to have been soldiers, rather than supply people or camp followers. There was no record of anyone from the War of 1812.

Eligibility was limited to veterans who had lived in the Bement/Ivesdale/Milmine area, live here now, were drafted out of this area, or had attended school in any of the three towns.

The Veterans’ Memorial Committee, consisting of at least two from the American Legion Albert Parker Post 620, Veterans of Foreign Wars Ray Plummer Post 5192, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 620, and the Sons of the American Legion Albert Parker Post 620, and two representatives from the business community , were joined by other community leaders. The Committee first met on 20 December 1997 and unanimously agreed to build the memorial on the west side of the Bement City Park on Illinois State Highway 105. The groundbreaking was set for 2 May 1998 and the dedication for 4 July 1998. In four weeks, the Committee had approved the design and had obtained a cost estimate from the stone supplier, Adams Memorials of Charleston, Illinois. The Committee sent 1725 letters to present voters and graduates of the schools, asking for veterans’ names and money donations. In 48 days, $48,000 was raised.

Despite a record rainfall during the 1998 planting season, Rick Durbin graded the site so the stones, service plaques, and flagpoles could be set in concrete the last week in June. Nineteen cement workers from the surrounding area poured and finished the concrete walks and all refused any kind of payment. One of the finishers, when offered payment, refused, saying, "I’m doing it for those names on the stones. They paid a higher price than I did today."

The Memorial was landscaped on 2 July 1998 by a task force of volunteers ranging in age from 10 to 94. The Bement veterans’ organizations all held fish fries to help raise money. The local radio station, W C Z Q, broadcast numerous free announcements about the meetings and work days. The veterans’ organizations have increased their memberships and the Bement/Ivesdale/Milmine communities have a renewed and strong civic pride.

The Memorial is lighted at night. One can observe visitors at the site any time in the day or evening and license plates from many states The Committee has videos of the dedication ceremony, quality still photographs of the site and those involved with the planning, construction, and dedication, and scans of the names and plaques. A list of names is in the Bement Public Library.

The American Flag, M I A Flag, American Legion Flag, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Flag fly at the site. Set into the walk at the site are plaques for the ten conflicts in which the veterans served, plaques with the service emblems of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine, and plaques with the insignias of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and M I A (Missing In Action). Seventy-nine stars denote those killed in action; clergy and medical doctors are also denoted.

Bement American Legion Post 620, Bement VFW Ray Plummer Post 5192 and the Bement American Legion Post 620 Auxiliary are all members of the Bement Area Chamber of Commerce which sponsors this web site.