On Sunday, Polk Township honored local veterans with the unveiling ceremony of a new plaque.

The new plaque was a true labor of love for Polk Township Veterans Commission. Since 2019 the commission has been gathering and searching old records in an effort that no Polk Township veteran’s name would be left out.

Reaching out to members of the community and following every lead that might locate someone who was a veteran, even if the veteran has moved away or died.

“Because of all the hard work done by the Veterans Memorial Commission, they were able to add 254 names on the new plaque for the Polk Township Veterans Memorial Day Service. The new plaque includes local veterans who served from World War II to the present,” said speaker Maj. James Cameron, assistant professor of Military Science for the U.S. Army.

The original Veterans Memorial was built and dedicated in 1996 on property donated by the Strausberger family, who lost their son, Whitey B., when he was serving in the Vietnam War.

The plaque that is being replaced and the monument were dedicated on June 3, 1951, and lists local residents from World War I. This monument was moved to the Veterans Memorial, which was unveiled in June 1996 as part of the Polk Township Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Claudette Williams, a retired U.S. Army sergeant major, discussed the 254 names on the plaque.

She told a story about a veteran who was in the hospital and he was dying.

“They told him that his name was on the plaque, and the one thing he wanted to see before he died, was to see the plaque. He wanted to see his name because he knows as long as his name was on that plaque his service would live on. So it’s quite an honor to have this plaque placed today with so many veterans’ names on it, that we can continue to serve those individuals, we can continue to honor those individuals and all the family members that are here and the veterans,” she said.

“A soldier cannot serve without the support of their family, without the support of their friends, without the support of the community,” Williams said.

“So as we fought on the battlefield and as we continue to serve, knowing that we have your support, and help us to do what we set out to do, the freedom that we set out to fight for,” Williams said.

“So think about the volume of individuals who have given their lives and those who have continued to serve and those who are thinking about serving. They serve with honor. They serve with pride and we serve because we believe in our country, we believe in what we’re doing,” Williams said.

“I’ve been on the battlefield, and I’ve lost soldiers on the battlefield. And I’ve lost a soldier after they came home. And no matter no matter what you do, or you think as a leader, you still ask yourself that question. Is there something that I could have done differently? And the answer is no, because we all raise our right hand to defend this country, so therefore, this plaque that will be placed today is with pride,” she said.