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Effort underway to preserve Pa. monument to veterans

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Etta Gill, MCL of PA President, and Diane Price present the wreath to honor veterans at the 34th Memorial Day program at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery took place Sunday afternoon, May 29. (Michael K. Dakota, Lebanon Daily News)

(Fort Indiantown Gap) — On Memorial Day 2016, Pennsylvanians have the opportunity to help preserve a monument dedicated to the commonwealth’s war veterans.

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is appealing to the public to support the Pennsylvania Veterans Memorial.

The 107-foot-high monument is located in the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County.

“This memorial was established to honor all Pennsylvanians and all of our veterans that have served and done so much for this country,” says Acting state Adjutant General Tony Carrelli.”You go back nearly 250 years in our history. Generation after generation of Americans have fought for to gain and secure and keep our independence and freedoms.”

The 15-year-old memorial is in need of more than $2 million in structural and cosmetic repairs.

“Unfortunately, donations to the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial Trust Fund have dwindled to less than $40,000 over the past five years and the memorial is in need of approximately $2.5 million in cosmetic and structural repairs,” Carrelli says. “Over the years, of course, weather and age have caused a bunch of repairs to be needed, so we’re asking the community for help.”

He notes the memorial stands as a lasting tribute to those who served our state and nation in times of war and peace.

Contributions are being sought online.

The memorial, which is made of  granite, stone, and concrete composition, was dedicated on October 7, 2001 and cost $6.2 million.

It is the first in the commonwealth to honor veterans of all eras from the Revolutionary War to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pennsylvania has the largest veterans’ memorial located in any of the 133 national cemeteries operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

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