Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The battle cross bronze statue, also called the military cross or battlefield cross, has been restored at Memorial Lane Park. It’s just in time for Memorial Day ceremonies Monday, May 27.
The statue features a helmet sitting atop a rifle resting in a pair of soldier’s boots. It’s the symbol of a fallen soldier.
The helmet was removed from the statue and stolen in January. Friends of Memorial Lane members were shocked when the statue was defaced.
“There’s been a lot of crying,” Julia Pannell, of Friends of Memorial Lane, remarked after the theft.
This week Pannell said her heart filled with joy when she saw the statue restored.
Pannell and others with Friends of Memorial Lane were pleasantly surprised when private donations came in to replace the stolen helmet.
“People read about it in the Hood County News and they were moved to act,” Pannell said.
The cost to repair the actual statue, patina treatment and “replanting” the entire statue with a stronger bond was funded by Lake Granbury Medical Center.
Tommy Ladd, owner of Schaefer Art Bronze Foundry in Arlington, welded the new helmet to the statue and installed the completed work at the park.
The public can report any tips regarding the crime to http://hoodcountrycrimestoppers.com.
Memorial Lane was dedicated July 1, 2017. It’s adjacent to the Jim Burks Firefighters Memorial Park, 550 Travis St., and includes an area dedicated to veterans, and an area dedicated to first responders.
The military cross statue came from a foundry in Alaska. In addition, local artist Mike Scovel created bronze statues of a dog with its head bowed down and a young girl with a folded flag and tear on her check for Memorial Lane Park.
The park is the site for many ceremonies.
dschneider@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 255
