Opha May Johnson monument finds new home at Veterans Memorial Park
Kokomo TribuneMar 05, 2024
Mar. 5—The
The project, headed by the
The monument includes three separate, staggered walls, decorative landscaping and a bench.
The first wall will be 7 feet tall and feature a portrait of Johnson.
The second wall will be slightly taller than the first one and feature a biography of Johnson etched onto black granite.
The third wall will be the tallest at 11 feet and include a solar powered Marine emblem that will light up.
The memorial will be sculpted by renowned sculptor
Construction is expected to be completed by late summer.
The location on the city's east side was not the first choice for the nonprofit. In fact, the location of the monument has been a point of contention between the HCMC and the county for the last several months.
The organization originally wanted to place the monument on the northwest side of the courthouse square, but that idea was nixed after opposition from the county's courthouse security committee due to security concerns; the west side of the courthouse is where inmates are transported to and from the courthouse.
Other proposed locations, on the northside greenspace of the Howard County Administration Center or on the Firestone building property at the corner of
"We have decided that in order to maintain the artistic integrity, scale and scope and original intent of the Opha May Johnson monument, the
The county is pledging an additional
In all, the HCMC has raised
Paul has previously criticized the county's decision to not allow the nonprofit to place the monument on either the courthouse square or some other prominent county property downtown and for what he says has been a lack of respect for the organization due to a lack of communication.
"I think I'm upset more than anything because nobody had enough respect for my organization, which has done a lot in this community, and me as a veteran, to give us a heads-up and tell us you weren't going to do this," Paul said to the commissioners at their
The nonprofit took a more friendly tone and approach to Monday's commissioners meeting with HCMC board member
"We just wanted to say thank you for working with us, and we hope that we'll be able to work with the county again on future projects," Dahl said.
The HCMC has spearheaded a handful of local monuments, including most recently the Women's Legacy Memorial on the northeast side of the courthouse square.
Johnson was born on
The monument will be the second such in the county placed in Johnson's honor. A stone monument honoring Johnson was placed in
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