STAFFORD — The new Stafford County Armed Services Memorial was a quick build.
Officials awarded the contract to construct the $838,000 memorial at the county government center to Kline Memorials, of Manassas. It was a natural fit for a company that in recent years had won contracts with the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Arlington National Cemetery, and the CIA.
Designed by Aaron Brown, who attended North Stafford High School, Burroughs worked with his team of architects and stone masons to make the memorial a reality. Some design elements were initially dropped due to budget constraints, but a working group charged with bringing the monument to life raised the additional funds to put them back into the plans.
“There was a lot of giving and take, but everyone got everything they wanted on their wish list,’ said Burroughs.
It typically takes about six months to construct a memorial like Stafford’s. Five years after the memorial was conceived, a groundbreaking for the memorial in March, and didn’t get their building permits until April 1, leaving about half the time necessary to make the July 15 opening date.
“I was here on Thursday night looking at it, scratching my head, and wondering how this thing would be ready,” said Stafford Board of Supervisors member Gary Snellings, who also served on the monument working group.
It was ready, and on July 15 thousand came to the Stafford County Government Center to dedicate the new memorial. It’s a place meant to remember those who have served and died in U.S. wars, to inspire a younger generation to serve and to inspire awe.
The memorial is built on an incline and features nine major wars from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror. A mural and a globe rotating on the water fountain are the design elements seen when visitors reach the top of the monument.
Stafford County leaders came up with the idea for the memorial after the death of Marine Sgt. Donald Lamar, a Stafford High School graduate, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. The memorial opened to the public on Saturday, July 15, 2017.
Kline Memorials was founded in 1901.
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