August 15th is the deadline you’re going to want to remember!
Have you and your family had the chance, recently, to visit College Station’s Veterans Park? In addition to Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and other national holidays, the chance to be present in a tranquil, reverent environment, shaded by trees even in this unbearable heat, is a chance to meditate on life.
At Callaway-Jones, we never take for granted the military service of our families. We honor the tradition of their service to country according to the wishes of the family. It can range from a U.S. flag-draped casket, to a 21-gun salute at our funeral center or at the graveside, along with the playing of “Taps.” We do this for every branch of military service with pride and great humility as we owe a debt of gratitude to those who went before us that we can truly never say “thank you” enough.
Beyond the ceremony that gives thanks for their life, the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial is an excellent place for a lasting commemoration of your loved one’s memory. They could be 18 years old when they enlisted, whether in 1944, 1964, or 2004, and they belong there. They do not have to have lived here in BCS. Instead, they just need to be part of your family or dear friends of your family. Where part of their love for you or your regard for them resides, their name qualifies to be here.
Every year at this time there’s a limited window of opportunity (by August 15th) to add the name of someone in your family or group of friends to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial. Our community has been blessed with a beautiful red granite Wall of Honor in the center of the Louis L. Adam Memorial Plaza at Veterans Park in College Station.
As of July 2020, over 5,000 names of “veterans representing all periods of U.S. history who are family and friends of Brazos Valley residents” are on the Memorial Wall of Honor. The cost is only $150 to have their name and branch of service added to the wall. Information and a form you can download is here. Payments are accepted online with credit or debit cards and you can mail checks to the address found there.
An easy-to-use guided map of each soldier’s name is found in computer kiosks at the park or you can look it up online at home here. There’s something transcendant about standing in front of the red granite monument and tracing the name of your loved one with your finger. Some people bring a pencil and blank sheet of paper to do a rubbing, the way we used to do in school, just to have as a family keepsake, including photos of family members at the site.
[Photos courtesy Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial]
Because not all residents have these magnificent monuments in their original birth town, or town of longest residence, even if they have never resided here in Bryan-College Station or the Brazos Valley before, if they are in your heart, their name can be on this wall. The sign-up form asks only for Veteran Name and the service branch.
Service branch choices include: Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Public Health Service, Confederate States of America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the more recent Space Force. General information is all online at BVVM.org, Facebook.com/bvvets, and you can reach out to them at info@bvvm.org or call (979) 574-7121.
One note for this year’s August 15th deadline to have your loved one’s name included: according to the website,
“Names submitted by Aug. 15 will still be recognized through our ceremony’s Honor Wall Roll Call and listed in the printed program. Once new names are engraved, we will contact applicants to let them know.”
This is because the engraving vendors had circumstances beyond their control and could not have the engraving completed in time for Veterans Day this year.
So, you have slightly more than 2 weeks to take action if you would like to add someone special’s name to the Wall of Honor. And to all who have served our country who we should honor every single day, please know you have our deepest respect and highest regard for your selfless gift on behalf of all of us.
Don’t forget — August 15th is this year’s deadline!
