LOCAL » FOCUS
BATTLE CROSS ORDERED FOR IRAQ SPONSORS NEEDED TO COMPLETE WAR MEMORIAL OTHER STATUES M STORY BY: NICOLE SCHOEN
ark Goujon became Chairman of the Iraq Veteran Memorial Committee last June and since that time has raised almost $10,000. Local sponsors have made it possible to order the centerpiece of the memorial, a 6-foot tall bronze Battle Cross, costing around $7,500. The Betz Bronze Foundry will build the statue and Goujon hopes it will be in place at the Veteran’s Memorial Park and Museum off Highway 301 by the end of this year. “I felt it was my place to take the initiative and represent the Iraq veterans,” Goujon said. “I didn’t want to wait three decades before we (Iraq veterans) got a memorial.” At 18 years-old Goujon enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1998 to 2010, spending around a year in Iraq on a Weapons Intelligence Team. During a mission he lost six comrades when an IED exploded. Now at 33, Goujon devotes time
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to make sure his friends and others who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn will be remembered in an honorable way.
Wayne Pugh served in the U.S. Army and Air Force for a total of 19 years before being medically retired from injuries while in Iraq. Pugh worked with Goujon on the WIT in Iraq. “The memorials are a way to remind Americans the true sacrifice military members gave and still give to this day,” Pugh said. One of Goujon’s committee chairmen is Michael Graham who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and is also Commander of AMVETS Post 44. He served in Iraq for a total of 21 months. “The most meaningful part of the memorial is the fact that Hillsborough County, the
community and the sponsors truly respect and understand the sacrifices of our men and women,” Graham said. The current cost of the entire memorial is around $250,000 but could change with the decision of the entranceway sculpture. All funds are raised solely by donations. “We need volunteers to go to different organizations and try to get sponsorship,” Goujon said. “We also need people to join the committee. I can’t be everywhere at once.” So far the largest sponsor is co-owner of Champion Foundation Repair and Goujon’s wife, Jaime, with $5,000. “I am so proud of Mark for taking all the initiative he has,” Jaime said. “He has such a generous heart and involves himself 100% with getting this memorial constructed.”
Photo by Mark Goujon, Mike Goujon and Mike Mosher
Other larger donations have come from AMVETS Post 44 with $1,500 and from VFW 8108 Ladies Auxiliary with a $500 granite tile. “There are things that we have designed and ready to do, but we are just waiting to have the money in the bank,” Goujon said. People in the community can help make this memorial a reality by purchasing a 4-by-8inch brick for $50 or an 8-by-8-inch brick for $100 to commemorate a loved one in the military. There are also 12-by-12-inch granite tiles for $500 or 16-by-16-inch tiles for $1,000 that will be displayed on the T-Wall. “All of our sponsors will be recognized on our blog and our website, and depending on the amount donated, they are going to get a brick or tile placed in the most premier spots,” Goujon said. Goujon hopes to complete the memorial by Veterans Day 2013. To see video and photos of the progress of the memorial or to donate visit: http://veteransmemorialhc.blogspot. com/.