Forgotten Heroes Memorial

On June 19 at the Grant County Airport (former Larson Airforce Base), a memorial monument was dedicated to the Korean War servicemen who were aboard an Airforce C 124 Transport plane that crashed in the early morning hours on Dec. 20, 1952. The flight was part of "Operation Sleigh Ride," a program to bring servicemen home for the holidays.

The colpetion of the memorial would not have happened on time if not for the terrific help of student craftmen, both men and women and staff of the Columbia Basin Job Corps, along with the local businesses that donated materials, supplies and labor.

While many people worked on the successful completion of the memorial (see the full list in the thank-you ad in the Jne 29 edition of the CBH), I want to thank the individuals who, by donating time, materials and supplies, made it possible to finish the project on time and within budget: Wayne Rimple, Moses Lake Steel (Rebar), PAp /maiers, AAA Ready Mix (concrete), Pete Higgins (excavation), Rick Pennhalluric TrueValue Lumber (lumber), Cliff Harden (paver placement), Mike Levit Blue Heron Turf (lawn turf), and Jay Mercer (CAD drawings).

A special thanks goes to Job Corps instructors Tim Mitchel and Scott Swell and Cory Roads, Port of Moses Lake.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Bellgardt and Steve Creviston, who created the idea for the memorial, and all who worked on the project.

To the public: If you have not visited the memorial at the Port Triangle Park, you should. It's beautiful.

Ron Barker

Project Engineer