Pat Carnevale leaned over with his phone, his American Legion hat's deep blue clear against the red of newly laid bricks, as he took photos of the dark black lettering engraved on the clay. On the the brick he's focusing on are his name and the names of his family members: men who served in various branches of the military and fought in war, like Carnevale himself, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Carnevale and other veterans and military families gathered Friday morning on Curtiss Parkway in Miami Springs to witness the unveiling of the city's new war memorial cenotaph — a tomb meant to commemorate people who are buried elsewhere.
READ MORE: The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol
" It's beautiful to see. I think it's a beautiful monument and it makes you feel warm inside. I'm just proud to say that I was a member of the United States Army and I always will never forget it," Carnevale told WLRN.
The newly remodeled monument was the brainchild of several members of the American Legion Post 32, based in Hialeah. The men wanted to repair and revamp the city's existing memorial, which was built in 1945 to honor fallen soldiers.
After three years of fundraising by selling engraved bricks and benches, and with support from the Miami Springs community, the legionnaires were able to raise more than $30,000 for the project. Supplemented by a $150,000 appropriation from the Florida legislature sponsored by State Senator Bryan Avila, the project went from a simple maintenance endeavor to a complete overhaul of the memorial.
"It wasn't a one person thing. This was a team effort, and that's what our community is. When we talk about supporting our veterans, our community does it as a team," Avila said during the ceremony.
The original stone monument still stands, but it's now surrounded by pillars and flags representing each branch of the U.S. military. Stone benches were erected around the monument, to turn the memorial into a community space where visitors can gather.
" [The monument] looked really bad before, it was not kept up the way it should have been. It was in disarray, but they've done an amazing job of getting it back up," said Steven R. Albritton, an Air Force veteran who sang the national anthem for the unveiling ceremony.
Bob Best, a former Miami Springs councilman who was part of the legionnaire committee that pushed for the new memorial, said his group will continue to raise money selling bricks at the River Cities Festival later this month. Proceeds will go toward maintenance of the cenotaph and veterans organizations.
