The Project
In April 1980, Amvets Post #58 established a small memorial at the northeast corner of Oakwood Park. It was established to honor all Hispanic veterans who had served our country in the military and to also honor those fallen while defending it.
Oakwood Park is in the heart of the Hispanic community.
OHVM
Lorain, OH
WNY HAVM
Buffalo, NY
There are several veteran memorials in Ohio and in the Midwest, but none dedicated to Hispanic veterans.
The closest Hispanic veterans memorial is the Western New York Hispanic-American Veterans Memorial (WNY HAVM) in Buffalo, New York… a 3 ½ hour drive from Lorain, Ohio.
We envision a place to honor all the Ohio Hispanic military veterans who fought and died protecting our nation’s freedoms. We would like to pay respect to our fallen heroes for the sacrifices they made by erecting a memorial in their honor.
The current monument consists of a small headstone within a small, landscaped plot. It was placed there on April 13, 1980. It is our intent to move and expand the current Hispanic Veterans Memorial to a larger tract of land, located along Grove Avenue, south of the Ohio Army National Guard Armory in Oakwood Park.
We would like to include the names of all Hispanic veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their country; it will include the names of all Ohioans, thus the change to a statewide Ohio Hispanic Veterans Memorial.
In addition to the monument, we envision the placement of large flag poles with the national, state and city flags, along with flags belonging to various branches of the military. We also envision an extended memorial lane along Grove Avenue in Oakwood Park that will provide other groups the opportunity to create their own memorials, representing the International City.
It is our hope to make the memorial lane a destination point to support the exciting rejuvenation of South Lorain, allowing us the opportunity to put the International City on display for all to see and it will illustrate the impact war has on our nation, in particular, the Hispanic community.
This memorial will powerfully show the tragic consequences of war and contribute to the pursuit of world peace.
The first half of the memorial project will consist of the following features:
The project concludes with the following features:
This project, along with other initiatives and projects throughout the city, and in particular South Lorain, will beautify Oakwood Park and the surrounding community. It will serve as a blueprint for other groups to follow our example of one who cares about and honors veterans, and in turn spotlight our city.
We are committed to raising funds and allocating them back into the community, whenever possible. This would be accomplished by hiring local contractors. Local minority contractors stand to benefit from this project as we are committed to giving them a fair opportunity during the bid process.
The concept of this project has been well received by community members because of Celestino Rivera’s leadership during its inception. Mr. Rivera’s recent passing has reinvigorated the committee members to push forward and see that his vision be fulfilled.
