An artist in Bethany, Oklahoma, plans a Route 66 Veterans Plaza memorial in that city that will be unveiled during Veterans Day, Nov. 11, in 2022.
Artist Scott Stearman announced the forthcoming project during the Bethany Route 66 Festival last weekend.
After the festival, Stearman posted some images of the Route 66 Veterans Plaza on Facebook:
Some of the details from Stearman:
- The Route 66 Veterans Plaza will be on the corner of Donald Avenue and Oklahoma 66 in Bethany near Southern Nazarene University. “Central sculptures are 9′ tall representing warriors from past wars standing behind a present-day warrior,” Stearman wrote.
- Showing an artist’s rending of two blocks of granite with names on them, Stearman said “the plaza is a tribute to all veterans and their families. This is a memorial to the fallen from Oklahoma in the global war on terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan. In all, more than 400 Oklahomans have died in those countries.
- The plaza will contain the statue of a life-size girl, holding a folded American flag while gazing at the names of the fallen.
- On top of the wall around the sculptures will be excerpts from soldiers’ letters to home.
The Bethany Improvement Foundation is soliciting donations to finish the project. Checks payable to the Bethany Improvement Foundation can be mailed to Priscilla Cude, treasurer, Bethany Improvement Foundation, P.O. Box 218, Bethany, OK 73008. The foundation is a federally recognized charity.
Stearman has produced a number of war monuments, which you can see here.
(Hat tip to Kathy Anderson; artist’s rendering of Route 66 Veterans Plaza in Bethany, Oklahoma)