Midland, MI: Korean War soldier statue added to Coleman Veterans Memorial

Midland Daily News, Michigan: Korean War soldier statue added to Coleman Veterans Memorial
The latest addition to the Coleman Veterans Memorial is a symbolic statue representing a soldier who fought in the Korean War.

It stands next to statues representing soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War and the Global War on Terror. The next figure to be installed is a WW II soldier. After that, the first phase of the memorial will be completed.

Coleman Veterans Memorial Committee President Randy Zylman said the second phase will include a female statue representing a modern day soldier and a WW I statue.

The first phase of the memorial statues are replicas of the 25th Infantry Division memorial located on the Schofield Army Base in Hawaii. Construction and fundraising efforts began last year. The site is located at a ceremonial courtyard on Railway Street.

The idea for a memorial began after Zylman's son, Casey, was killed in Iraq on May 25, 2007. He was a corporal in the Second Platoon, Apache Troop 3/4 Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division.

Although Coleman residents and war veterans have managed to raise enough funds to get the project going, the memorial committee members still have a lot of work ahead of them.

"We still need to raise a lot of money," Zylman said.

He said the Korean War statue comes at a cost of $81,100. The modern day soldier will cost another $81,100 and the committee owes $20,000 on the WW II statue.

"There's still a lot of fundraising to do yet," Zylman said.

The memorial committee is planning a spaghetti dinner fundraiser Oct. 14 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Coleman VFW Post 1071. The fundraiser will include a silent auction, 50/50 Raffle, T-Shirts and a bake sale.

The Coleman Veterans Memorial Committee is made up of local residents. With help from the 25th Infantry Division Memorial Fund, the committee created a special project to raise and collect funds for the Coleman Veterans Memorial. The 25th Infantry Division Memorial Fund is an IRS Certified 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information or to purchase a commemorative brick paver, a T-shirt or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.colemanveteransmemorial.org