Dedication of the Berlin Veterans Memorial Park Set For June 14

The New Berlin Veterans Memorial Park will be dedicated on Flag Day, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. The Park is located on the newly named “Veterans Way” that runs from Farmington Ave to Massirio Drive, adjacent to the Stop and Shop supermarket.

The Park has a circle of five new granite monuments. Each monument bears the insignia of a branch of the military services – Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force and each monument has a flagpole with the flag of the same military service flying above it. The American Flag will fly in the middle of the circle of flags.

Berlin’s oldest living veterans will do the honors of hoisting these flags for the first time with the assistance of the members of the Veterans’ Commission. Veterans Commissioner Linda S. Schwartz, along with other state and local officials will attend and the public is invited.

After the dedication, everyone will be invited to go to the American Legion Hall for the Flag Day Ceremony. This is where all the old battered and worn American flags will be retired.

The Veterans Commission is selling bricks that will be used in the walkways around the monuments. These bricks will enable people to honor veterans past and present. Bricks will bear the name, rank, and service of those veterans who have served, either living or deceased. The only criteria are that the veteran has obtained an Honorable Discharge. A copy of a form DD 214 must be submitted with the application.

The money received from the purchase of the bricks will be used to insure the proper maintenance of all the veterans’ memorials in the town.

Applications will be available at the Town Hall, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, by contacting any member of the Veterans’ Commission or by printing the application attached to this article in PDF fashion.

The event will take place rain or shine.