The City of Morrison, with the assistance and expertise of the City of Morrison Historical Preservation Commission, recently embarked upon a new and exciting project.  Coming soon to the City will be a Veterans Memorial Park.  The Park will be located on High Street near Grove Hill Cemetery.  It will be a wonderful memorial for those persons who have served our country.

Several memorials will be placed in the Park, which have recently resurfaced and have been donated to the City for use in the Memorial Park.  Some are new, including the Howitzer, which will be the centerpiece of the Park. 

The Park and Memorial is not intended to be something just to drive by, but for people to enter and reflect upon the various monuments, plaques, and tablets, which will be inscribed with the names of all the deceased Morrison area veterans.  The names will be inscribed on tablets according to the war in which they served, along with their date of death, and burial place. 

Construction has continued for the 2005 season.  Once the Howitzer found it's new home in the Veteran's Park & Memorial, it didn't take long for the project to take shape.  The American flag, POW/MIA flag, and the State of Illinois flag are now all proudly flying at the new Veteran's Park & Memorial.  Concrete paths were laid in mid-April.  These paths connect 3 of the areas of the Park.  The area has also been grass-seeded.  Two granite benches have been placed in the park.  These benches were donated by two service organizations from Morrison.  The Speakers Stand has been moved from its original location.  Its placement now makes the stand more of a part of the park.  The memorial tables have been installed, which list the deceased veterans of the Morrison area by war served.  Click here to view images of the project once it is completed. 

Several businesses have donated their time, materials, or have given a monetary donation toward the effort.  The City Council has set up a specific fund, which will earmark monetary donations made toward the park's development.  Individuals or businesses wishing to make donations may do so by sending their contribution to the City of Morrison, 200 West Main Street, Morrison, IL  61270.

In an effort to verify the Veterans whose names will be placed on granite tablets in the park, we have posted the names which we have researched thus far.  To view the names, please click here (PDF file).  Please email any omissions or spelling corrections to webmaster@morrisonil.org.  In addition to the name of the veteran, we will also need the name of the war they served in and their death date.  Names will be placed on tablets according to the war they served in and they will be placed on the tablets in order of death date.  Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

The City of Morrison Historic Preservation Commission is currently establishing a list of all living Military Veterans who either served from or reside within the 61270 Zip Code area.  The information needed is: Last name, Middle initial, War served in or Service dates..  The purpose of this list is to plan for future name engraving on the granite tablets in the Veterans' Park and Memorial.

Individual registration can be done by emailing webmaster@morrisonil.org, writing to the City of Morrison, Veteran Registration, 200 West Main Street, Morrison IL 61270, or by stopping into City Hall.

Veterans organizations are also urged to submit their current membership lists.

Be sure to check back.  Progress updates will be posted here.  For questions regarding the Veterans Memorial Park, please contact the City of Morrison at 815-772-7657.