Letter: Visit the memorials that honor our vets

We have a veterans memorial in Cedar Rapids that is very nice.

My son and I have a brick beside each other. My son was in the 82nd Airborne and I was in the Navy. I was in Navy aviation.

The first memorial was started when Bob Novak, with IBEW Local 405, asked me if I would take on the job of building the first veterans memorial.

I took half days off to contact local contractors for donations. Many thanks to ESCO Group in Marion for the poles and the light fixtures. Thanks to Coonrod Wrecker and Crane Service in Cedar Rapids for setting up the poles for us.

I did not do this alone. I had many men ask if they could help. Some were not in the service. All was done by union workers.

For those who have not seen this memorial, you will be surprised by the memorials to each war and one for peace time - how beautiful it is. They now have a Korean one dedicated to the Iowa servicemen who gave their life in the Korean War.

My wife and I try to keep flags on bricks of those who we know. There also are four gravesites at Mount Calvary that we keep flags on.

Clifford Higgins

Cedar Rapids