Fallen warriors project completion planned for Nov.

The Fallen Warrior Memorial Project received a $5,000 donation Wednesday from the St. Mary Parish Foundation to help build a monument in Cypress Park expected to be finished by Veterans’ Day to honor military personnel from the area who were killed in the line of duty, according to a Community Foundation of Acadiana news release.
The project will build a memorial that will serve as a permanent monument to honor men and women from Morgan City, Berwick, Patterson and the surrounding Tri-City area who gave their lives while in service to their country, the release stated. The monument will be built in the new Cypress Park near the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium and is scheduled to be complete by Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, the release stated.
The memorial will also feature a Walk of Honor brick walkway to honor all military veterans, whether living or dead, who served their country during wartime or peacetime, the release stated.
The Fallen Warriors Memorial Project is a project of the City of Morgan City in collaboration with the St. Mary Parish Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Acadiana. The cost for the monument is nearly $150,000 and will be funded with private, tax-deductible contributions from the community. Each gift will directly benefit the Memorial as Fab-Con Inc., is sponsoring the project and covering the administrative costs, the release stated.
Marc Distefano, co-chairman of the Fallen Warriors Memorial Project, said the mission of the Fallen Warriors Memorial Project is to honor local veterans who sacrificed their lives.
Distefano is encouraging community support for financial donations and information about the lives of these heroes in order to build “an enduring, world class monument that symbolizes such a sacrifice where citizens can reflect on the human cost of combat and memorialize these heroes with stories about their lives,” Distefano said.
“We hope to not only honor their individual sacrifice, but also to acknowledge the heavy burden placed on their family and friends in this community,” Distefano said.
Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi of Morgan City said the project is great “for St. Mary Parish and the Tri-City area in particular and a wonderful opportunity to honor our veterans who have given their lives for our freedom.”
St. Mary Parish Foundation Board Member Alice Pecoraro, said, “It is important to recognize those who have given so much for our country.”
Terry Mayon, co-chairman of the Fallen Warriors Memorial Project, said “We must remember that, in most cases, these were very young men who fought and died for our way of life. The design of the sculpture will illustrate the line of our Fallen Warriors passing the symbol of our freedoms, the American flag, to the next generation.”
Donations can be made to the Fallen Warriors Memorial project by visiting www.cfacadiana.org/FallenWarriors or by mailing a check to St. Mary Parish Foundation with Fallen Warriors Memorial in the memo to P.O. Box 2000, Morgan City, LA, 70381. Members of the community may also purchase bricks in the Walk of Honor online or by requesting an order form at www.FallenWarriorsMemorialMorganCity.com.