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An old, enduring friend is back home at Veterans Memorial Building. Grant Wood's striking stained-glass window has been repaired and reassembled in a painstaking process that took the better part of a year.

It's fitting that the public will get its first peak at the 24-foot-tall window, which is valued at $3 million and was seriously damaged in the flood of 2008, on Sunday. This work of art honors many who fought to win and protect the freedoms we celebrate every July 4.

It's also fitting that a veteran played a large role in its restoration. John Watts, who served in Vietnam, is one of the three founding owners of Glass Heritage, the Davenport company that handled the restoration.

It's not the first rededication of the famed window. In June 1991, a ceremony was held after repair and cleaning.

On Sunday, the public will get a rare opportunity to view the window without any obstructions. A protective frame will be added later.

Wood created the window by first making lift-size sketches, which are on exhibit for the first time at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

The window, put in place in 1929, is an icon within an icon. Veterans Memorial Building on the Island is a unique structure. Also damaged in the flood, it will be repaired and used again for some city offices. The Veterans Commission is talking about creating a new museum and service areas for veterans. Thus, opportunities to view the window will be limited during the construction period of a year or so.

No matter the building's final look, the Grant Wood window remains at the heart of our community - an important symbol that reminds us of our heritage and continues to help anchor our future.