Public help sought to complete memorial to local Gold Star Families

Brick by brick, community members are raising funds to build a monument in Lacey to honor local Gold Star Families.

Partnering with 501c(3) nonprofit Gold Star Memorial Foundation of Lacey (GSMFL), the city set aside a place at 521 Sleater Kinney Road in the middle of the Civic Plaza for the foundation to build a memorial monument in remembrance of “Gold Star Families.”

According to the GSMFL website, Gold Star Families are defined by the Department of Defense as family members of United States Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in active duty; including parents, step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, spouses, children, step-children, adopted siblings and adopted children.

“GSMFL invites community members to purchase a personalized, engraved brick or sponsor a Hero Memorial Brick to be permanently placed at the base of the monument,” the city’s press release said.

Community members and local businesses can buy individualized 4-by-8 inch bricks for $150 or 8-by-eight for $300 which allows for three lines of text with 15 characters. Corporate sponsorship bricks also measure 8-by-8 inches and are priced at $300; these can feature a company logo and one or two lines of text. The corporate sponsorship logo will also include the name of a Gold Star Family member the company sponsored.

All proceeds from the brick purchases will go directly to funding the monument.  The bricks will be set at the base of the monument.

Construction on the monument’s foundation has begun. The local Gold Star Memorial Foundation is aiming a completion in June, with a formal dedication next fall. The city contributed $30,000 from its Public Art Fund toward the memorial’s erection.

Gold Star Memorials can be found in all 50 states, according to the city’s statement, with Lacey becoming the third site in Washington State after Forks and Walla Walla.

Interested supporters can purchase the commemorative bricks at GSMFL’s website; contributions are tax-deductible.