“It’s been from the grass roots up. We’re a long way from where we were, and we have some very good ideas,” said Jim Snyder, a Kettering resident and president of the Korean Veterans Memorial Association. “The City of Kettering has been super good in working with us to honor the veterans.”
The plaza would be located at the corner of Dorothy Lane and Delco Park Drive, across from the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop.
At a committee meeting Feb. 16, representatives from Dayton History, local military organizations, Kettering parks and the Kettering Parks Foundation discussed design options for the veterans plaza as well as small displays throughout the park honoring Charles Kettering and his company, Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co., for which the park is named.
Preliminary plans for the landscaped plaza call for a five-pillar granite monument representing the five branches of the military, with the possibility of a small reflecting pool and engraved pavers that people could buy in honor of veterans. A tiered hillside behind the monument could feature a row of flags.
This project began a year ago with a call from Snyder and former Kettering councilman Vince Chalecki to rename the 70-acre Delco Park as Kettering Veterans Park. After input from the city and Dayton History, a decision was made to create the veterans plaza and highlight Charles Kettering and Delco’s ties to the nation’s war efforts.
Kettering Parks Director Mary Beth Thaman said there is little in the way of a tribute to Charles Kettering in the city that bears his name.
“It will be a unique historical opportunity, and then people will know why Kettering is Kettering, and why Delco Park is called Delco Park,” she said.
For more information about the project, contact city of Kettering parks at (937) 296-2454 or Jim Snyder at (937) 293-1819.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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