UPPER POTTSGROVE — The first-ever veterans memorial in Upper Pottsgrove has been completed after seven years of effort, and it will be celebrated with a dedication ceremony on Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m.
U.S. Navy veteran and longtime township activist, Dennis Elliott, has been the prime mover behind the effort.
It was an effort that found traction with the passing of Elliott’s best friend, Mo Schaeffer, a disabled veteran and West Pottsgrove Police officer.
“He was very involved with the work done on Veteran’s Island in Pottstown and it really hit me when he died, that we had nothing in Upper Pottsgrove Township to honor our veterans,” said Elliott, who served with the elite Navy Amphibious Assault team, and declined to describe any of the missions in which he participated.
“Let’s just say I served my country and was honorably discharged,” he demurred.
What Elliott was not reluctant to talk about were all the people and organizations who helped make the project possible.
He singled out a few, including the Rev. Bruce Mulberry, pastor at Hopewell Community Church, who donated the proceeds of several years’ worth of Community Days to the effort; the township police who permitted Elliott “to be there with my (fundraising) bucket when they held their pancake breakfasts.”
High on the list is Danielle Baily, board president and chief executive of the Transplant Alliance Foundation, whose primary purpose is “alleviating the financial strain which often accompanies organ transplants.”
The group raises money through the Bingo Hall on State Street in Pottstown, and in one night, they held a high-stakes Bingo night to benefit us and raised $20,000,” said Elliott. “A few months later, Danielle asked me if we still needed money, and I said we always need more money. She asked how much we needed, and I said $10,000 would be nice and I had a check the next day,” he said.
That money was handled by the Greater Pottstown Foundation, so Elliott did not have to go through the arduous procedure of forming a non-profit organization recognized by the IRS, known as a 501(c) 3. “I asked Paul Prince if he could help, and I explained what he needed, and he said, ‘We’ll take care of it’,” said Elliott.
He also had kind words for Gofus Memorials on North Charlotte Street, which reserved the primary stone for the memorial over several years while Elliott worked to raise the money. The inscription on the stone was crafted last year by the combined efforts of students at Pottsgrove Middle School.
Elliott has asked students at Pottsgrove Middle School to suggest wording for what the memorial should say.
He got nearly 20 responses. “I have to tell you, they were all so good, I couldn’t pick just one,” Elliott said in November, “so I used some of all of them.”
The students who participated are Sophie Colloton, Ella Cook, Madison Diehl, Elena Dimarzio, Elias Fox, Alexa Foyle, Morgan Gray, Gabriella Groff, Ella Hively, Arabella Kushner, Kyra Lang, Alexandra Moon, Jarel Phinnessee, Nicholas Rowe, Kareen Srour, Lucas Stetler, Mason Van Bramer, Madelyn Wages, Zoe Yeboah.
In addition to the main monument, there are five other black granite obelisks, each with a brass emblem of the five military services — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard — affixed to the top.
There are also two black granite benches.
One is dedicated to the memory of 1st Sergeant Bill Sharon, who died in 2018, and sponsored by his family. The other is dedicated to the memory of Amy Leigh Miller, who died in 1990 and is sponsored by her parents, Herb and Janet Miller.
The 10 a.m. ceremony on May 17 will feature a bagpiper, student singers from Pottsgrove schools, and an honor guard that will play taps and provide the gun salute.
“I’m having a little trouble finding a color guard,” Elliott said.
Any color guard interested in donating their time and services can reach Elliott at 610-326-8988 or through Upper Pottsgrove Township secretary Jeanne DiSantis..
