COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Funding has been approved for the repair and relocation of a central Ohio war memorial which was hit by cars twice in recent years.
The Linden War Memorial honors veterans of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It holds a special place in the heart of George M. Walker Jr.
“When I was a young, as a Boy Scout I marched in parades and we had the memorial service here every Memorial Day," Walker said.
Walker is a lifelong Linden resident and an Army veteran. He said it's tough to look at the shape the memorial is in now. The American flag is torn, and part of the monument is in storage. It was hit by a car in 2019, then again in 2021.
“It’s deteriorating, they have had a couple accidents here, right here in Linden, it's not being well maintained, used to have whole bunch of flowers all around, it was a beautiful sight," Walker said.
He hopes it will be beautiful again. At its meeting on May 20, city council approved a bit more than $90,000 to fix and move the memorial.
“What we found with the Linden War Memorial is it's currently in the middle of a very busy stretch of Cleveland Avenue," said Cameron Keir, Chief Communications Officer for the Columbus Department of Development. “So we worked very closely with the community, we reached out to veterans groups and community leaders and both told us we needed a better place for the community to gather around this memorial, to hold events that you would expect around a memorial.”
The park is being moved from its current location at Cleveland Avenue and Westerville Road to Linden Park so it doesn't get hit again, according to Keir. Walker wished he'd been part of the conversations on plans for the memorial, but said he's glad repairs are on the way.
“The people that were contacted, they’re people like me, they served time in the military so they feel the same way I feel and the thing is as long as someone's taking care of what needs to be taken care of, it doesn’t matter where it's set at, as long as it's being taken care of," Walker said.
Keir said the hope is the work is done in time for a new dedication around Veterans Day.
