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Flags fly in memory of heroesCOLLEEN JENKINS Published December 13, 2003 CRYSTAL RIVER - It was the moment Pete DeRosa and the Fallen Heroes committee had been waiting for. The sky was clear blue and the air had just the slightest chill. The chairs set out for guests were filled and plenty more people stood on the lawn of Bicentennial Park. "Oh say can you see," crooned a man's voice from a played recording of the national anthem. Pairs of men from the American Legion Post 155 - their hair gray and white, some shoulders stooped and other waists rounded - tugged quickly on ropes and hoisted six flags. First, the Army flag. Then, flags bearing the emblems of the Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Marine Corps and Navy. And finally, after some fumbling, the blue Air Force flag joined its brothers, linked by an American and prisoner of war flag in between. Minutes later, DeRosa and Fred Bunts pulled a white sheet off the dedication ceremony's centerpiece: a slender granite structure bearing the names of the 59 Citrus County residents who have died in military service to the United States. "The dream has come true," DeRosa said after the ceremony. DeRosa, who had several family members serve and die in war, was credited at Friday's Fallen Heroes memorial dedication as the visionary behind the effort to honor local soldiers who lost their lives in battle. War is inherently filled with hardship, a notion not lost on the Fallen Heroes group as it struggled in recent months to have its goal realized. The monument initially was slated for the city of Crystal River's Little Springs Park, adjacent to City Hall. The Crystal River City Council approved the memorial in September but not without contention over the project's seven-flag design. The city's flag ordinance allows only four flags per property, meaning the group needed a special exemption to preserve their design. But in October, the council voted 3-2 against altering the flag ordinance. The Fallen Heroes group decided if it couldn't erect the memorial as designed, it wouldn't build it at all within the city limits. The organization turned to the county, which quickly approved a plan to build the memorial in Bicentennial Park, just south of Crystal River city limits. In about five weeks, county workers cleared a wooded spot and volunteer contractors poured cement and installed the memorial's pieces. The organization collected more than $25,000 to pay for the memorial. Still to come are benches, landscaping and tile blocks that will feature the names of 40 donors who gave more than $500 each to the cause, said group spokesman Keith Taylor. At the dedication late Friday morning, organizers agreed they made the right decision in moving the monument's location and keep their design intact. The six military flags flying atop tall poles evoked pride for veterans of each branch of the armed forces, they said. Retired Col. Curt Ebitz, the event's guest speaker, explained how flags had for centuries marked hallowed ground. During battle, he said, flags served as "beacons to rally combat forces amidst the fog of war and the chaos of organized violence." But the dedication speakers also emphasized that the memorial was about much more than flags or names chiseled into rock. It was about the people who didn't live to be recognized for their sacrifice. "Who were these fallen sons?" Ebitz asked. "The answer is clear and indisputable. They were American patriots. They were freedom's guardians. They were uncommon heroes. "They valued life," he said, "but cherished our American way of life far more." - Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 860-7303 All rights reserved. |
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