By JEFF WIEHE
Fort Wayne News Sentinel (Indiana)
A memorial for police officers and firefighters from Allen County who died in the line of duty moved another step toward reality Wednesday.
At a news conference at C.M. Sloan and Sons Funeral Home on Wells Street, the board of the Law Enforcement Fire Fighters Memorial (LEFFM) unveiled the winning design for the memorial they hope to build at the intersection of Wells and Ewing streets just north of the St. Joseph River.
The announcement marked the culmination of a contest won by Dagan Vukadinovic, a senior creative designer for Hyundai/Kia in Laguna Beach, Calif.
When a designer designs it can be one of two things: hard work or inspiration, Vukadinovic said in a telephone interview from California. In my case it was inspiration.
The memorial will cost about $150,000, and will be paid for through donations. LEFFM doesnt have the money yet, but is recruiting support from the public and private sector.
The land has been leased through the Allen County Board of Public Works for $1 a year. Several construction companies are donating supplies and services, and the organization is looking for an endowment that will keep the memorial there forever.
This is a historic occasion, putting firefighters and police on a central memorial together, said LEFFM board President Jerry Vandeveer.
About a dozen police officers from the Fort Wayne Police Department and Allen County Sheriffs Department were on hand Wednesday along with members of the press and the LEFFM board. Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York accepted a $1,000 check from Dignity Memorial, the owner of C.M. Sloan and Sons, for Vukadinovic, who was unable to attend Wednesdays ceremony.
Vukadinovic, who grew up in Parma, Ohio, about 3 hours from Fort Wayne, was the only person from outside the area to enter the contest. He stumbled upon it while surfing the Internet.
I read Jerrys description of what he wanted, and it did such a good job that it designed itself, Vukadinovic said. I was just kind of the facilitator.
The memorial would contain a park area, with grass, trees and walkways. A 12-foot high stone wall with three flagpoles atop it will sit in the center of the park.
Surrounding the wall will be 12 stone platforms, each 3 feet high, that will symbolize the fact that police and fire personnel are on duty 12 months of the year.
Two more stone walls with a flagpole atop each will sit on each side of the park. One will represent firefighters, the other police officers. Both will have the names of the fallen engraved on them.
The engravings on the center wall and on the platforms havent been decided yet. The tops of the three main walls will be trimmed with stone taken directly from some of Fort Waynes oldest buildings.
It will serve as a haven for family members to come and reflect on their loved ones, Vandeveer said.
On the Web
Visit the Law Enforcement Firefighters Memorials Web site at: http://www.policefirememorial.com