CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada has dedicated a memorial to 895 residents who have died in wars and conflicts dating to the Civil War.
Gov. Brian Sandoval led several hundred people at a Friday unveiling of the Battle Born Memorial near the state Library, Archives and Public Records building near the state Capitol.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the governor called the site holy ground and a sanctuary where the stories of the dead can be shared and remembered.
“All of these heroes died for a cause greater than themselves,” the governor said. “They died for a cause greater than all of us. They died for an idea of liberty.”
The marble-and-metal open archway features brass-colored metal strips with cut-outs casting shadows of the names of the dead on the base and walls.
The memorial cost $450,000. It was approved by the Legislature in 2013 and funded in December 2017, with a Veterans Day 2018 opening date.
State Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, an Air Force veteran who sponsored the 2013 legislation, said the memorial also offers comfort and solace to families that suffered the loss of a loved one.
The Nevada Department of Veterans Services contributed $150,000 toward the work by Punch Architecture in Las Vegas.
The Nevada attorney general’s office contributed $300,000 of nearly $493,000 that Nevada derived from a 43-state settlement of a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson alleging quality control shortcomings with over-the-counter drugs.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.