First State Veterans and War Memorial Grants Approved

A $19,500 grant will help the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War replace a bronze statue of a Union soldier atop a monument in the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in southwest Portland.

Timber-Linn Park in Albany, Oregon Photo courtesy: City of Albany

(ALBANY, Ore. ) - Oregon's first Veterans and War Memorial Grants will help develop a memorial in an Albany park and replace a Civil War statue in a Portland cemetery.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission approved the state Lottery-funded grants at a commission meeting Thursday in Albany.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will release $21,960 to the Veterans of the 20th Century organization, which applied for a grant to support the new veterans memorial in Albany's Timber Linn Park.

The grant will fund 80 percent of the cost to install benches, buy trash receptacles and improve the landscaping with tree plantings.

A $19,500 grant will help the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War replace a bronze statue of a Union soldier atop a monument in the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in southwest Portland.

The original statue was stolen from the memorial. More than 300 Civil War veterans and family members are buried in the cemetery at 9002 SW Boones Ferry Road.

OPRD's Local Government Advisory Committee recommended the grants. The agency has $50,000 available to finance the inaugural awards.

Created and authorized by the 2005 Oregon Legislature, the grants can fund up to 80 percent of the cost to build and restore veterans and war memorials on public land.

Non-profit veterans organizations that are based in Oregon or have chapters in the state are eligible for the funding.