MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Organizers announced Monday that an important new edition will be added to the monuments at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. They hope to have the state’s first Gold Star Memorial erected by this time next year.

The memorial will honor Gold Star Families. Those are families who’ve lost love ones in military service. The first memorial was established in West Virginia, with the hopes of having one up in every state.

“The monuments provide a place of permanence for Gold Star Families to gather and utilize as they see fit.  These monuments belong to them and their fallen loved ones,” those behind the project told News 5.

Each one of the monuments has two sides. The first, is the same for each, the second has local images.   “One side bears the words:  Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, a tribute to Gold Star Families and Relatives who sacrifice a Loved One for our freedom. The other side tells a story through the four granite panels.  Homeland, Family, Patriot and Sacrifice.  The scenes on each panel are a reflection of each community’s Gold Star Families and their fallen Heroes.  At the center of this tribute is a silhouette of the Loved One who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Freedom,” a press release reads.

News 5 has learned that a private benefactor is paying for the monument, so there will be no need to raise money. That’s why organizers believe they can have it up within a year, likely making it the first in the state of Alabama.

The next step is a presentation to the Battleship Memorial Commission on February 14th.

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