Park board OKs $10,000 contribution to Gold Star Families monument to be built in Naperville's Veterans park

Apr. 12—A $10,000 contribution from the Naperville Park District pushes construction of the Gold Star Families Memorial monument in Naperville'sVeterans Park a little closer to its $77,000 fundraising goal.

The park board last week approved money for the project, which will be erected on the park's west end in honor of the families of fallen service members.

The funding request was made by Gold Star Committee co-chair Jennifer Slown and the Century Walk Corp. Money was available because unrelated improvements being made at the park are coming in about $10,000 under budget, district officials said.

Slown said they have raised $50,000 of what they need thanks to the district's contribution.

The monument will be built this summer or fall, and when completed will be first its kind in Illinois. A similar Gold Star Families monument is being planned for Springfield.

When complete, it will be about 6 feet tall, 16 feet long and made of four black granite panels. A cut-out silhouette of a military service member will stand near the center.

There are 79 Gold Star monuments erected around the country and another 79 in the works, according to a website for the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation.

raguerrero@tribpub.com

___

(c)2021 the Naperville Sun (Naperville, Ill.)

Visit the Naperville Sun (Naperville, Ill.) at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.