SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — After decades of honoring veterans and their service, the Sheboygan County Veterans Memorial is looking toward its first expansion since 2015.
The expansion will nearly double the amount of names already etched in stone on the memorial.
The memorial has been around since 1994. Right now, the memorial is home to the names of over 4,000 veterans from Sheboygan County. However, space is starting to run out.
Sheboygan County Veterans Memorial Chairman Allen Nohl is taking charge of a fundraiser to increase the amount of names on the memorial.
“We are looking to add two more granite walls so we can keep adding names,” said Nohl. “With the space we have left now, we probably have two years of space left.”
Nohl said the goal is to raise $200,000 to be able to complete the project. It has plans to add two more walls to place names on.
It aims to have the walls up prior to a dedication ceremony in Oct. 2024.
The memorial is a place for veterans and their families to go to honor those who have served the country.
Just last year, Kenneth Hemenway, a Navy veteran, had his name added to the walls.
“Our name is going to be up here forever,” Hemenway said.
He was able to also add his son’s and grandson’s name to the wall with his name. He said he is proud to be honored in a permanent way for his service.
That same sentiment rings true for Navy veteran Vince Korbal. He said seeing his name etched in stone provided him with a sense of closure he had never experienced after coming home from Vietnam.
“It kind of gave me closure when I came home in ’66, where there were no yellow ribbons on the parkway tree,” Korbal said.
The impact this has on these two veterans is what the memorial’s board is hoping to share with over 3,000 more veterans once they are able to expand.
For more information on how to donate or get a veterans name placed on the memorial, click here.