Salem Veterans Memorial, Salem, Iowa

A veterans memorial built to honor all veterans who served in all branches of the military from the Salem area. It covers military from the War of 1812, Indian Wars, Blackhawk War, Spanish-American War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Persian Gulf, Lebanon/Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq/Afghanistan and peacetime. There were 218 names placed on the memorial from our two cemeteries in Salem. There were three POWs buried in the two cemeteries. There are a total of 356 veterans listed on the memorial with space for others to be added in the future. A committee of our American Legion commander, Jim Onorato, retired USN commander; committee member Eugene Stewart, USMC Vietnam veteran; committee member Bill Wixom, USAF; committee member Jim Dean, retired from Chevron Oil; honorary committee member Rosie Kramer; and bookkeeper/secretary Pamela Stewart helped fundraise and build this memorial in a timeframe of 18 months. We are very proud of this memorial and during the ceremony, over 250 people attend the dedication. Salem has a population of approximately 400 residents. April 2022 update: The journey to place a veterans memorial in Salem is nearing its fundraising goal. Memorial committee member Gene Stewart told the Salem City Council in 2016 that the committee has raised $43,909.60. A new goal by the committee members was reset to add plants and a vinyl wall across the back to cover attention of the basketball court and a stone wall surrounding the two sides of the memorial. There were a few other stones added for future members and lights to cover all three flagpoles and walkways. There were also four benches placed through the memorial for people to sit, and they were used to inscribe donors' names. Gene Stewart and Jim Dean, another committee member, presented the council with a schematic drawing of the memorial, which will be located across the street from the community center. A comment was made that names of 217 veterans interred in the Salem cemeteries will be on the monument and applications of 41 other veterans have been approved. Jeff Murphy of Murphy Funeral Home and Monument Sales of Mt. Pleasant will provide the initial stones for the names of the veterans at cost and also will pay for the engraving of the 217 names of deceased veterans in the town's cemeteries. To be eligible for placement on the memorial, the veteran must have ties to the City of Salem, i.e., born in Salem, buried in Salem, went to school in Salem, lived in Salem at one time or another, married someone from Salem, etc. Any veteran who was on active duty during wartime or peacetime is qualified for placement on this memorial. Any reserve or National Guard member also is eligible for the memorial. The veteran must have been honorably discharged from the branch of service in which they served. Current active-duty veterans also qualify for placement on the memorial. Cost of engraving of the name is $150; we have decided that $150 will cover the engraving of the new names and help some on paying for the new stone. Cutoff to have your name and payment in will be April 1 of the said year. If we need more money for the project in the future, we will have fundraisers. The memorial was completed for a grand opening and dedication date set for July 22, 2017. We celebrated with nine stone markers, four stone benches and an American flag, Iowa flag and POW/MIA flag. Special thanks to Mike Barton, Barton Construction, for doing a wonderful job from start to finish and for donating a large amount back to the memorial. RIP Rosie Kramer.