Village Officials Balk At Veterans Memorial That Depicts Soldier’s Gun

The Milford, Michigan Village Council is balking at the idea of completing a Veterans Memorial that depicts a soldier’s gun in their Central Park.

Friends of American Veterans (FAV) proposed the memorial, which would be 8-foot-tall. It would include “a 43-inch granite base…topped by a 52-inch sculpture of the fallen soldier memorial: a bronze sculpture of combat boots, [M-16] rifle with dog tags…[and] a helmet on top.”

But a number of the Village Parks and Recreation Commissioners were hesitant, as were members of the Village Council.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Village Manager Christian Wuerth said “a couple” of commissioners had concerns “regarding the specific memorial that’s proposed. Specifically, the gun. They understood the history of (the memorial) and the meaning of it, they just didn’t feel it was appropriate for that specific location.”

Council President Jerry Aubry said he did not oppose the memorial, but he was not comfortable with the prominent location in which it would be placed.

Aubry said: “I don’t think it needs to be a center point of our Central Park. The boots, the machine gun, the helmet; I understand it should be there somewhere, but I don’t think it should be right in the middle of the park.”

Councilwoman Jennifer Frankford disagreed with Aubry and with council members who took affront to the the depiction of the gun and other soldier-related aspects of the memorial. She said, “If it wasn’t for the boots and the gun and the helmet, we wouldn’t have all the freedoms we have.”

The Village Council plans to take the matter up again at its April 20 meeting. Friends of American Veterans plan to bring as many people as they can in support of the memorial.