Victory Oak Knoll Memorial is on a six-acre site near the 18th hole at Community Golf Course.
“One hundred and two years ago, this was installed to give honor and memorial to all those who lost their lives in World War I from Montgomery County,” said Jim Cunningham of Scouting America Troop 193 of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kettering, which has been primary caretaker of the memorial for about two decades.
The veterans commission provided the $3,400 needed to repair the masonry after a large limb fell from one of the massive oak trees. It landed on both sides of the entrance and turned a large part of the masonry into rubble. The project took about a month to be completed, Cunningham told all five commissioners during their Wednesday morning visit.
“It’s awesome,” Veterans Commission President Jerry Hays said of the memorial. “Anytime we can pay tribute to fallen heroes … being able to pay tribute to these guys, it’s what we’re all here for.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Although he has been to the memorial twice before, Hays said there have been “lots of changes” since his last visit.
Many troop members have completed Eagle Scout projects at the memorial, including the brick walkway, picnic benches, a trailhead sign explaining the memorial and a new gravel pathway up the knoll.
Next up at the memorial is to replace a damaged chain link fence with a split rail fence, which will be installed by the scouts. The century old concrete on the bandstand needs repairs, and there are some oak trees in bad condition that need to be removed for safety reasons. An ongoing project is keeping the six-acre knoll clear of invasive honeysuckle, which at one point was seven or eight feet high, Cunningham said.
Following the storm damage, the scouts took to social media with an online fundraiser to ask the community for help. Their plight was shared in a story in the Memorial Day edition of the Dayton Daily News, which was brought to the attention of the commissioners.
The commission has a $50,000 annual budget for maintenance of the county’s 24 memorials, which include the Ohio Korean War Memorial in Riverside and Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Dayton.
Some projects are a lot costlier because they don’t have a community partner like the troop.
“To see they’ve done such a great job, it’s good the money went to the right place,” said Commissioner Bill Fried.
Commission Vice President John Theobald agreed.
“They didn’t show up a month or a year ago. This troop has been caring for this memorial for at least 20 years,” he said. “You can come out here many, many times and learn something new.”
During the tour Wednesday, commissioners learned that each oak tree had a brass medal with the name of the person killed. Over time, many were taken and the trees grew up around still more; however, “there are some that are still there,” Cunningham said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
About Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission
The county agency is dedicated to serving Montgomery County veterans and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The agency provides assistance when dealing with the VA, including compensation claims and widows’ benefits, financial assistance to eligible veterans and family members, transportation to medical appointments in the county for eligible veterans and no-cost legal consultations.
Last year, commissioners said the agency helped local veterans get $6 million in back benefits.
For more information about the veterans commission, go to mcvsc.org, email veteransinfo@mcohio.org or call 937-225-4801.
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