Veterans who served their country in all branches of the service were honored Wednesday during the dedication of the new veterans memorial located at the Veterans Memorial Park on South Broadway (State Route 123) in Blanchester. The memorial also recognizes all American wars.

Several hundred people gathered for the ceremony which was dedicated to and in honor of Chester “Red” Wilson, a 61-year member of the American Legion Post 179, Marion Unit, in Blanchester. Wilson was filled with emotion at the announcement and voiced his appreciation with tear-filled eyes.

A brass plaque was unveiled by two of Wilson’s grandsons, Todd Wilson and Travis Gorges.

For many years, Wilson was the key to the operation of the park which opened in 1957.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served in the 83rd Infantry Division during World War II. He is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans. He received the Military Order of Purple Heart and was decorated with the Oak Leaf Cluster. He also has served as a member of the Clinton County Veterans Service Commission for more than 19 years.

Participating in the ceremony were representatives from all branches of service, including the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Navy and Coast Guards. As each branch of the service was announced, the Blanchester High School band played their theme songs as flags were raised by the service representatives. The band also played the national anthem.

Mike Mider, commander of the Marion Unit, announced the names of several Blanchester area men who were killed while serving their country. “If they could talk, what kinds of stories would they tell? I tremble when I hear taps and I wonder what our brothers did. Freedom is not free. A lot of people made sacrifices and gave their lives so we could be free.”

Bronze plaques recognizing all wars were placed on concrete pavers, including the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Lebanon Grenada, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Herbert Dunkman, project manager, said the veterans memorial is for every veteran who served in any branch of the service. “This is the home of the free and land of the brave,” he said.

During the closing prayer, Kelly D. McInerney, pastor of the Bible Baptist Church, called the dedication of the memorial a great day for Blanchester and the veterans. “Freedom isn’t cheap. Remember the price they paid for our freedom.”

Blanchester Mayor Chad Hollon gave a brief history of the Blanchester park which was purchased by the Blanchester American Legion Post for $5,500 and was opened in 1957. Hollon said Wilson and Carl and Velma Chaney worked very hard to keep the park open. In November 1969, the park was dedicated and renamed Veterans Memorial Park. The Clinton County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) purchased the park in 1969 from the American Legion for $150,000, with the stipulation the name could not be changed and the land would have to remain a park.

In 1988, the Village of Blanchester purchased the park from the CIC, paying the unpaid balance of $97,000.

Hollon repeated part of the Gettysburg Address which was a speech written by Abraham Lincoln.

In closing, the mayor thanked all of the veterans and the leaders of our country.

Mider called the park a “Field of Dreams” after the 1989 movie of the same name which mixed reality with fantasy. In the movie, an Iowa famer hears voices in his cornfield telling him “if you build it, they’ll come.” The farmer interprets this message as an instruction to build a baseball field on his farm, upon which appear the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series.

“This all started with a field of dreams in 1957,” Mider said. He said initially one ball diamond was built. Twenty-one years later — in 1978 — a second ball diamond was added. “Now we have four baseball diamonds,” Mider said.

In addition to baseball, the field provides a place for youths to play football and soccer.

After selling the facility to the CIC, in 1993, the American Legion built a new post home. In 2005, when money began running out, the building had to be sold. The American Legion moved into a room at the Blanchester Municipal Building & Community Center. Mider said the village charges the post $1 a year for rent.

Ground for the veterans memorial was broken in the spring and numerous volunteer hours and labor have made this dream of many local veterans a reality.

Orders are still being taken for engraved 4-inch by 8-inch brink pavers which are being placed in front of the memorial. Cost for each paver is $30 and they can be engraved to either honor or memorialize veterans and active duty service men and women. Each paver can have three lines with up to 20 characters per line. Spaces and punctuation are considered characters. Information should be printed clearly. To order a brick, submit the information and send with your check for $30, made payable to American Legion Post 179, 318 E. Main St., Room 210, Blanchester, 45107.

Monetary donations are also being accepted to defray the costs of the Veterans Memorial project. For more information, contact the American Legion at 783-5906.

A reception was held at the municipal building following the dedication.