A little St. Louis nonprofit continues to plug away at its goal of creating a memorial to about 150 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen from Missouri who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Missouri Military Memorial Foundation plans to eventually erect a monument with the names and pictures of the fallen at Jefferson Barracks Park in St. Louis County, says Jennifer Jerome who manages social media and the website for the group.
In September, after four years of grassroots fundraising — trivia nights, golf tournaments and 5K runs — the foundation dedicated a pavilion and held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site. The group needs to raise an estimated $200,000 more to complete the memorial, Jerome said.
Completing the first phase was uplifting to the group’s members because they now have something tangible to show for their hard work, she noted. It’s also a sign of their determination.
