Fairview dedicates expanded
memorial for Veterans Day
Eagle Scout adds flagpoles to single pole Lt. Gov. Cox installed years ago
By Robert Stevens
Managing editor
Nov. 16, 2017
FAIRVIEW—As part of a Veteran’s Day ceremony in Fairview on Saturday, Lt. Gov Spencer Cox stood in front of the flag pole he installed for his Eagle project years before and helped dedicate another Eagle project which gives a major facelift to the Fairview City Cemetery Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) memorial.
Cox was enthusiastic about the revamp the memorial had received by Trey Robison of Boy Scout Troop 502, partially because it reminded him of his days as a Scout and his own Eagle project
“I am so excited for Trey and this project,” said Cox. He told the crowd how he and his friend Jeremy Madsen had the opportunity of playing taps at the graveside services of veterans as young men, and during those periods of service, they noticed there was no flagpole on the hill.
“For my Eagle project, I got ambitious and put in this flagpole behind me,” he said. “It stood alone for a long time, but Trey you’ve done a better job than I did. We are so proud of you and your choice to do this.”
When Robison took the podium, he talked about the fond memories he had of his grandfather, who had been a Vietnam veteran. Robison said it wasn’t until long after his grandfather had passed, that he recognized the real significance of the 21-gun salute given at his grandfather’s funeral.
“All I knew at the time was that it was significant and honorable,” Robison said. “It has been an honor to do this project. Our veterans sacrifice so much for our freedom, so this project seems so small compared to what it truly represents.”
Robison said that when he contemplated what his Eagle project should be he immediately knew it needed to be something in honor of his beloved grandfather and his fellow veterans, so he devised the idea of adding military flag poles to complement the existing national flagpole, a paved-stoned walkway and re-positioning the memorial bench.
He also gave the memorial itself a facelift, adding military themed images, night lighting and a double-sided roof to cover and protect the list of veterans’ names, and a map to the graves of veterans within the Fairview City Cemetery.
A video of Robison’s Eagle project’s installation can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j88HsUpoguI.
The dedication of the memorial facelift happened in conjunction with the annual Veteran’s Day flag raising ceremony organized by the Mt. Pleasant VFW Post 9276 and American Legion Post 4.
At the beginning of the day’s event, recently retired U.S. Navy commander Carl Sullivan of Sterling spoke to the crowd of more than 100 people in attendance, imploring them to stand united as American citizens in the times ahead.
“They say it takes a village, and it does,” he said. “This nation takes every one of us. If we don’t have each other, we are nothing. Today, on this Veteran’s Day, we who are veterans also salute all of you who are fellow Americans who stand with us to serve our nation and community. You will play an equally important role in this next chapter of American history.”
