Bluffton is building a Veterans’ Memorial. Here’s what it’ll look like

A peaceful place to remember veterans past and present is in the works for Bluffton.

The town has agreed to sponsor a Veterans’ Memorial, which will be located on Buckwalter Place across from Evicare, according to an announcement from the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 205.

A town park is also in the works for Buckwalter Place.

The Town of Bluffton will fund the construction of the memorial, and the Legion is selling commemorative bricks that can be engraved with names or messages.

The memorial will “serve as a place to pay tribute and give thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to those who served,” according to the Legion.

There are about 18,800 veterans currently living in Beaufort County, according to the American Communities Survey done each year by the U.S. Census Bureau.

A majority of those veterans served in the Vietnam Era and the Gulf War after 2001, the survey shows.

The memorial has been planned since about 2015, when Legion members noticed the town lacked a place to honor veterans. “Unlike most towns in South Carolina, Bluffton has no memorial honoring those who serve or have served in our Armed Forces in wartime and peace,” the Legion website says.

This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 11:33 AM.

Katherine Kokal

The Island Packet

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Katherine Kokal graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Island Packet newsroom in 2018. Before moving to the Lowcountry, she worked as an interviewer and translator at a nonprofit in Barcelona and at two NPR member stations. At The Island Packet, Katherine covers Hilton Head Island’s government, environment, development, beaches and the all-important Loggerhead Sea Turtle. She has earned South Carolina Press Association Awards for in-depth reporting, government beat reporting, business beat reporting, growth and development reporting, food writing and for her use of social media.