Few people know there are three POW/MIA memorial plaques obscurely placed in front of City Hall that pay tribute to our military veterans.  The plaques, however, were brought into the spotlight last Tuesday (March 11) at City Council’s regular meeting.  The plan, as described by the meeting agenda, was approved unanimously (6-0) by the Council to move the plaques to a new veterans’ memorial to be constructed at Harris Ryals Park as part of “the five-year Parks Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the amount of $290,000.”  The location in the Bedford park is located at the southwest corner of Cummings and Murphy Drive.

At its July 23 meeting of last year, City Council “approved reallocating the remaining balance of the Series 2019 General Obligation (GO) Taxable Bond to support the Parks” CIP,” as explained in last Tuesday’s agenda.  Transferring the plaques was discussed as a possible add-on project for funding from the CIP.

The funds for the memorial, however, will be paid from interest earned on part of the bond money that was invested, according to Bedford’s Director of Parks and Recreation Mark Long.  This was a critical point that Council Member Rich Steves asked to clarify.  “Yes,” Long replied, “it’s the interest earned on [the bond} so we wouldn’t be dipping into the actual bond itself.”

Assistant City Manager Caryn Riggs reconfirmed the point by saying “the project is being funded fully out of interest” and she added that “about $102,000 [was] left in interest earnings as of the end of January.”

In addition to the funding from the bond, Council Member Steve Farco commented that “we have a bunch of residents that have asked if they could donate to the project.”

Harris Ryals Park

Harris Ryals Park, as presented by Long, is an “appropriate location,” for the memorial because of its central location in the City.  The park, he explained, is a quiet “place of reverence,” it has trees and “space for reflection.”

According to his 2010 Star-Telegram obituary, the park’s namesake, Harris Ryals, worked for the Bedford Parks Department for 21 years and was an Army Bronze Star veteran who served during World War Two, two tours in Korea as well as serving in Vietnam.  Long described Ryals as “an incredible patriot.”

Expressing a hope to complete the project by this coming Veterans’ Day, which falls in November, Long said the plan for the memorial is to feature the three plaques along with the emblems of the six military branches and the three flags of the United States, Texas and MIA/POWs.

Relocating the Plaques

Long explained that the project to relocate the plaques began in July of last year, when City Council recommended the project’s inclusion in the CIP.  He said it began by agreeing to “simply move those three plaques off our [City Hall] lawn, where they’ve been neglected and into the [Harris Ryals] Park.”

City staff, Long said, selected the site and, together with Mayor Dan Cogan and Council Member Steves, met with MHS Planning and Design, of Tyler, Texas, to create conceptual drawings for the memorial.

Long acknowledged the support of veterans toward driving the project as “a very worthy cause.”  He added, “We have one the largest veterans’ organizations right here in Bedford,” referring to the American Legion Post 379, which is on Industrial Boulevard, just north of Harwood Road.

Most of all, however, Long credited Steves as having “played a really big part in this” and was the one who “brought this to our attention.”

After the meeting, Steves acknowledged that this project is personal for him and that he is grateful for Mayor Cogan’s support as being “instrumental.”  He said, “The Mayor and Council really appreciate Bedford’s veterans and it shows by proposing this memorial.”  The plaques, he emphasized, “need to be moved to an area where our residents can see and honor them.”

Steves explained that he served five years in the Navy and has been a member of American Legion Post 379 for 25 years.  He said his “family has served in the military for generations.”  His father and uncles, he said, had served in the Marines in World War Two and in Korea.  He said, also, that his wife’s father served in the Army during World War Two, that her uncle died in that war and that his grandfather served in the Army during World War One (the Great War).

“I love it!” commented Council Member Joy Donovan Brandon, who asked about nighttime lighting for the memorial’s flags.

Long confirmed there would be lighting for the flags and that there would be “some additional lights on certain things.”