Memorial bricks at Neuseway Park, around the CSS Neuse replica and along downtown sidewalks, will form a Walk of Honor to commemorate veterans' service and, often, their sacrifices.
Each brick will bear the name, rank and branch of service of an honorably discharged service member who served in any of America's wars, including the Civil War.
"For historians, reenactors and all those who honor the sacrifice of our country's veterans, this fund-raiser gives you a chance to help build the CSS Neuse II and share your love of history with future generations," B.J. Murphy, a spokesman for the project, said.
The Walk of Honor is being sponsored by The Last Firebase Veterans' Archive Project and Herritage Street merchants.
Three types of bricks are being sold for the project. The smallest is 4 inches by 8 inches, and will be sold for $75. It will be engraved with a veteran's name, rank and branch of service.
For $200, contributors can purchase an 8-inch-by-8-inch brick containing five lines of information.
Another 8-inch-by-8-inch brick will be sold for $500 and will contain information and a corporate logo or the insignia of the veteran's service branch.
Any person who buys a brick will be asked to supply a photograph and a biography of the veteran being honored. The information is to become an archive of veteran history.
A directory of names will be available near the Neuse II site to help visitors find the names of veterans they have honored or those they know.
The announcement of the project was made Thursday afternoon at the CSS Neuse II site. Herritage Street merchants Jan Barwick, the Rev. Jack Anglin, Murphy, Paulette and Steve McFadden, dance school owner Mary Beth Dawson, shipwright Alton Stapleford, Ted Sampley and Terah Archie participated in unveiling the project.
Sampley, who heads The Last Firebase, said five bricks were sold before the announcement. Barwick bought the first brick to honor North Carolina's Revolutionary War hero and first governor, Richard Caswell. American Legion Post 43 bought a brick to honor Army Pvt. Joseph Dixon Rountree, the first Lenoir County man to die in World War I.
The third brick will honor John Grady, the only Minuteman to die at the Revolutionary War battle at Moores Creek. Grady was killed in February 1776. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2771, represented by Army veteran and Kinston City Council member Joe Tyson, bought the fourth brick. The fifth will honor the late Army Capt. R. Marshall Helms, who taught for many years at East Carolina University and served in World War II.
"These bricks are to honor all veterans of all areas," Sampley said. "They don't have to be Civil War veterans. We want to honor veterans from the Revolutionary War through Iraq and Afghanistan."
Only bricks bearing the names of Civil War veterans will be placed around the Neuse II ironclad.
Sampley said the plan is to begin the Walk of Honor at the flagpoles in Neuseway Park, where ceremonies honoring veterans often are held. Other bricks will be used along Herritage Street to beautify the area and replace cracked and crumbling sidewalks.
"These will be a permanent memorial to our veterans," Terah Archie, coordinator of the project, said.
The city has not agreed to help with the project. Organizers are hoping city crews will help remove old concrete when work is ready to begin. They say brick installations will be done according to city code.
Between 500 and 1,000 bricks are necessary to begin installation. Archie said she hope work can begin this fall.
"And we're not anticipating this project to sunset in the next few weeks," she said. "This will go on for a long time."
Eventually, memorial bricks could be used along side streets between Herritage and Queen streets and on Queen Street sidewalks.
The group hopes to send the memorial nationwide. Sampley said people from 18 states fought in North Carolina during the Civil War. Others from all parts of the U.S. served in various branches of service and were stationed in bases in the state during several wars. Each person who was honorably discharged is eligible to have a brick dedicated to him or her, Sampley said.
Bricks are available from any Herritage Street merchant or from a Web site the groups plan to have up and running by the end of the week.
Lee Raynor can be reached at (252) 527-3191 Ext. 236 or at Lee_Raynor@link.freedom.com.
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