Former County Judge hopes to move
war memorial park
By Catherine Dominguez
Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Retired United States Marine Corps Cpl. Jimmie Edwards III is working to
decommission the Montgomery County War Memorial Park in hopes to
relocate it from its current location nestled between the county tax
office and Conroe Tower to a larger, more visible and accessible
location yet to be determined. The former Texas Representative and
Montgomery County judge plans to meet with county leaders at Montgomery
County Commissioners Court Jan. 24. Edwards lost both legs after being
hit by a mortar shell while serving in Vietnam in 1969
While the Montgomery County War
Memorial Park was dedicated in 1976 by former President Gerald
Ford and
then rebuilt in 1987, the park has become one of the community's best-kept
secrets.
Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Retired United States Marine Corps Cpl. Jimmie Edwards III looks over former
classmates lost serving in Vietnam during a visit to Montgomery County War
Memorial Park Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Conroe
The park honors those from all military branches from World War I to
present.
Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Retired United States Marine Corps Cpl. Jimmie Edwards III is working to
decommission the Montgomery County War Memorial Park in hopes to
relocate it from its current location nestled between the county tax
office and Conroe Tower to a larger, more visible and accessible
location yet to be determined.
However, for retired U.S. Marine
Corps Cpl. Jimmie
Edwards III, the problems with
the park don't stop at visibility and accessibility. Many people, he said,
don't know the memorial exists. Edwards, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart
recipient who served in Vietnam from 1968-69 before losing his legs in a
bombing, said those fallen veterans deserve more.
"I got on this little red cart and went around this square off and on for a
couple days and probably talked to 150 people," Edwards said. "I asked them
where the Montgomery County War Memorial Park was located. I had two people
guess, and no one else knew where it was.
Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Montgomery
County War Memorial Park stands between the county tax office and Conroe
Tower Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Conroe.
"There is so much more we can do to honor our veterans."
Edwards will appear before
Montgomery County commissioners Tuesday and request the court decommission
the park so it can be relocated to a larger, more visible and accessible
location. The court meets at 9:30 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Alan
B. Sadler Administration Building.
County Judge Craig
Doyal agrees
the park is limited and supports the relocation of the memorial to a new
location.
"We can make every effort possible to show our veterans the respect and the
acknowledgement they deserve," Doyal said. "I believe the county would be
willing to help if it would better serve the veterans and make the park more
accessible.
"I certainly would support that."
Edwards is no stranger to taking charge. After his service to the country,
Edwards went on to serve Texas as a state representative during the 1970s
before leading Montgomery County as county judge from 1983-87. In fact, it
was Edwards that led the effort to rebuild the park in the late 1980s.
"The problem then was it was all grass and you had to step down to get in
it," Edwards recalled regarding where the names of the fallen veterans were
displayed. "Everybody thought they were park benches. Everybody would just
sit there on top of them."
At that time, the sitting Commissioners
Court members,
including Edwards as county judge, all donated $5,000 to rebuild the park
and constructed a fountain to bear the names of the fallen military members.
Now, 20 years later, Edwards believes the best thing for the park is to move
it, possibly to the Montgomery County Flag Park, where more people can visit
and enjoy the memorial.
"We want to decommission the park, just like you do a naval ship," Edwards
said. "There will be a formal ceremony; there will be speakers; and these
names will be read and a bell will be run after each name."
Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
The
Montgomery County War Memorial Park features displays now faded over
time honoring service men and women who lost their lives serving their
county. The memorial stands between the county tax office and Conroe
Tower Friday in Conroe
The plaques will be rebuilt in granite since the current ones made of
aluminum have faded and many can no longer be read. Edwards stressed the
move is not an effort to get rid of the park but to make it better.
"The park, brick by brick, pole by pole and bench by bench, will be moved to
a new site," he said. "We are only limited by what our perception of what
this park should be. (We want it to be) a place that people can come to, a
place of serenity, peace or reconciliation. It can be a lot of things."
Edwards said his "loose-knit" group is working to find a new location and
even have had many people offer to donate materials and labor to make the
new park a reality sooner than later.
"It's like a military operation," he said. "We know what our goal is, but we
don't know when we are leaving, don't know how we are going to get there;
but when we do get there, we are gonna win the war."