HOWELL – A Wall of Heroes is in the works to be unveiled in Town Hall, the project stemming from Deputy Mayor Pamela Richmond’s creative idea.
“I think it’s always important to honor our military. I am a daughter of a Marine, my brother is a Marine, my grandpa was in the Army as well,” Richmond told Jersey Shore Online.
The Wall of Heroes memorial is set to be displayed in the foyer at town hall. The initiative will feature photos of armed forces members looped on a television as well as a designated area for fallen soldiers.
“We’re going to have a nice big TV and above that it’s going to say ‘Howell Wall of Heroes.’ We’ll have each branch of military insignia around the TV, as well as an American flag on one side and the other side we’ll have the Howell Township flag. By the window we will have a table for the fallen heroes,” Richmond said.
Richmond first announced the project at the February 1 township council meeting, explaining how she spoke with Township Manager Brian Geoghegan about the initiative.
At the meeting, fellow members of the governing body expressed their support for a Wall of Heroes.
“I’ve always taken a special interest in helping support the troops by writing letters or sending care packages. My family has always done that. When the Boy Scout Brendan Mueller of Troop 300 came to us (council) and asked about moving monuments to Soldier Memorial Park, it gave me an idea that we need to do something,” Richmond said. “I started thinking of an idea to honor the military. I heard Brick Township did something on their wall as well as Jackson Township, so I visited them and piggybacked off that. Brendan really sparked something inside of me, so I thought we should do something at town hall.
“I’m so excited for this project. I’m also excited that all of council are on the same page to support a great initiative. It’s important and it shows how important the veterans are to our township,” Richmond added.
Currently, there is no set date on when the memorial will officially be unveiled, but Richmond said they are aiming for some time in April.
“My goal was Memorial Day, but then I thought I wanted to give it its own special day. As soon as we can get the decals printed and up on the wall, we’ll will probably pick a date from there. Right now, we are hoping to unveil it sometime in April.”
The Township is now taking applications for the Wall of Heroes. Active military and veterans will be celebrated for their service.
“Anybody who served in the military at any capacity who lives in Howell or has any connection to Howell can apply. We decided to open it up to anybody especially since it’s going to be digitized. So even if we finish it say April 1, we can just keep adding to it at any time. There’s really no deadline. Being digital we can keep adding to the wall so to speak,” Richmond said.
