City Park Veterans Monument takes shape
Recognition bricks available to order
City of Crete Public Works employees built two oversized, wooden easels which pair with concrete frames to hold recognition bricks next to the tank in City Park as the start of a monument to honor local veterans.
Order forms are available to purchase recognition bricks for $75 each. Each veteran’s name, dates and branch of service, and war or conflict in which he or she served can be displayed on three lines of text available on each brick. Forms are available at the Utility Office at City Hall or at the link below and must be returned with payment to the Utility Office. Please call with questions or concerns, 402.826.4312.
The subject of each brick must be a current or past reserve or active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces: Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps, including the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. He or she should have a connection or association to Crete: relative of a community member, live or once lived in Crete, were stationed at the Crete armory or were employed in Crete.
Please refer to the order form for more information. Eligibility guidelines may change to remove certain restrictions.
The City Park veterans area has room to expand with more brick frames, made by local contractor Jason Maly, to honor more veterans in the future. The tank is also surrounded by stamped concrete, a project completed in the spring.
The M4 Sherman tank in the northwest corner of City Park, south of the Post Office, was originally placed in July 1960 by members of the Nebraska National Guard. The tank was last repainted in 2016 to reflect its accurate service numbers and insignia. About 50,000 M4’s were produced during WWII and Crete’s is a model M4A3E8 produced in 1944. Many tanks of this configuration also served throughout the Korean Conflict.
View more Parks and Recreation information.