HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A new monument has arrived in Huntsville and it honors the families of those who lost their lives while serving in the Armed Forces. We’re told the “Alabama Gold Star Families Memorial Monument” is the first of its kind in the state. Some Gold Star family members stopped by to get a look as the monument was unloaded. We heard what this day means to them.
We spoke with Julie Kink, Co-chair of the Alabama Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Committee. She tells us, “Family relationships are all different. Grief is different depending on the war, the time, the family relationship. But, there’s a commonality there in that there’s a big hold in your heart. There’s something missing from that point on.”
Kink says this is a big moment. But, this monument also hits very close to home for her. She tells our reporter, “As a Gold Star sister, siblings are often times caught in the middle between things… I think it’s really important to recognize that there are families in our community who are Gold Star Families, and we might not even know that they are Gold Star families. We need to remember and promise them that we’ll never forget their loved ones or them.”
The monument arrived at the Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial Park in pieces, escorted by members of the Patriot Guard Riders.
We talked to John Cooper, the North Alabama District Ride Captain of the Patriot Guard Riders. Cooper says bringing in the monument was an honor and important duty. He adds, “We have the Vietnam wall here and for people like me who served there, it’s the perfect solemn place. I hope this monument will be the same.”
Others who came by say this monument is needed for healing. We spoke with Don Collins, a veteran who tells us “Being in a military family and also being in the military, I know that the family serves too.”
One mother, Eilene Shellman, remembers the son she lost while holding a very special friend. She tells our reporter, “The day that he left for ‘basic’, I got ‘Go-Go Prayer Bear'. Gordon’s nickname had been Go-Go, from the time he was tiny, he was nonstop.”
Her son, Gordon, served for four years and was deployed to Afghanistan. Eilene shares she would carry Go-Go Prayer Bear and say extra prayers on days when her son may have had a mission or if he’d send a text saying ‘Go-Go Prayer Bear’ to ask her to keep him in her thoughts.
She gets emotional as she tells us this monument means so much.
Shellman says, “When we lost him in January of 2014, all the special occasions and anniversaries… and certainly the special occasion of the Gold Star Family Memorial arriving is definitely special so he’s in uniform and here.”
Crews will start putting together the monument tomorrow. But, it'll stay covered up until the Dedication Ceremony. That’ll be held Saturday, October 17 at 10 am.