Thursday, March 7, 2013

Hispanic veterans plan for new memorial

By Anthony Howard and Lars Lewis
BengalNews Reporters 
            The Western New York Hispanic-American Veterans Memorial Committee is overseeing the completion of the Hispanic-American Veterans Monument being built in Naval Park.           
            The monument will pay tribute to the living and fallen Hispanic veterans in the Western New York area. People will be able to visit the site and learn about the Hispanic veterans who fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
            The committee hopes to raise $225,000 in donations. As of Jan. 24 the committee has raised $42,758.
             “We need to let people know, the city know, the world know, what they did for us, they risked their lives, people don’t know that,” Dinorah Santos, committee secretary said.
            Santos’s son is  active in the Air Force.
            The project has received support from businesses and local councilmen, who will also be honored on the site.
            The committee plans to debut the Hispanic American Veteran’s Monument on Memorial Day.
            The committee was formed in 2011 made up of Hispanic-American veterans from the area.
            They meet once a month at the Belle Center on Maryland Avenue to discuss the progress, funding, and other initiatives to build the monument.