(Fort Washakie, WY) – With gratitude to the vision and hard work of American Legion Post #81, The Path of Honor – Wind River Veterans Memorial opens to the public on August 12th with a dedication ceremony. This is a celebration of nearly 14 years of work and the community is invited to attend. The ceremony will be held at the Frank B. Wise Business Center at 10:30 am on Thursday, August 12th.
The Path of Honor – Wind River Veterans Memorial is a tribute to all military service members who live within the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. It is the first dedication recognizing Native American veterans in the State of Wyoming. It is a space where our veterans can come together to be recognized and honored, and where many generations – at home and afar – can learn that service is honorable and noble – and that we are all in this together.
“The Path of Honor project at its core seeks to unify, include, and inspire. Encouraging us all to come together to learn about, preserve, and honor the incredible courage, commitment, and sacrifice of all veterans who have lived on the Wind River Reservation,” said Commander Wyman H. Weed, Sr of American Legion Post #81.
The Path of Honor is a collection of stones representing four-eras of service; World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and finally the Post- Vietnam & Gulf War Era. A red path, a Native American symbol of courage and commitment to living a purposeful life, will wind through the stones.
This project started in 2008 with a partnership with the Wind River Development Fund (WRDF) and Post #81 came together to build the Frank B. Wise Business Plaza. Led by Lyle Wadda of Post #81, project planning for the Path of Honor began in 2017 when WRDF received a planning grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. Local artist, Jon Cox, developed the design and placement of the stone monuments. Jon grew up in Wyoming and is a talented artist who has completed projects on the Reservation and across the state. In 2019, the Hughes Charitable Foundation provided the cornerstone funding to bring the project to completion.
“We are incredibly grateful to 60 donors who have supported the construction of the memorial. We are eternally grateful to the Hughes Charitable Foundation for bringing the project home with their donation.” project team member, and Vietnam Veteran Scott Ratliff shared.
Since the announcement of the project, nearly 900 service members and their families have submitted names for the memorial. Given the great engagement, we will have a full list of names available on the website starting August 12th to ensure every veteran is recognized for their service and their sacrifice. For more information about the Path of Honor, or to RSVP for the dedication August, 12th, please visit www.wrrvetmemorial.org.
