thedrifter
04-10-09, 07:23 AM
Patriot Dreamer: Loveland veteran seeks memorial to honor fellow WWII soldiers
By Pamela Dickman
Loveland Reporter-Herald
Tears well in Al Stevens’ eyes when he talks about “Patriot’s Dream” — a military memorial he is raising money to create in Loveland.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” said the veteran, looking at a picture of 4,048 stars along the national World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., each honoring 100 Americans killed in the war.
“I came home. I’m not one of those stars. I’m 83 years old. I want to do something before I die, and I think this is it.”
With help from local artists Kathy and Ron Browne, Stevens has turned his dream into a polyurethane resin plan — four hearts, each 6 feet tall, painted with the mountains and a sunset, and each bearing the seal of one of the branches of the U.S. military.
The back of each heart will be the same shape as the military’s Purple Heart medal and will bear a line from the song “America the Beautiful.”
The third heart will carry a line from the fourth verse of the song: “O beautiful for patriot dream.”
The name of the piece — which was presented to the Visual Arts Commission on Thursday evening — represents the song’s dream of a free America and the dream Stevens is trying to build in Loveland.
“Al is a patriot,” said Kathy Browne.
“And it’s his dream,” added Ron Browne, also a veteran.
Kathy added, “He has this dream, and it’s so powerful.”
But Stevens is facing some opposition to his dream.
Engaging Loveland, the group that has placed decorated fiberglass hearts around the city, said the proposal devalues its project.
And the Loveland Associated Veterans Club does not agree with the proposed location, Dwayne Webster Veterans Park at Grant Street and West Eisenhower Boulevard.
Stevens already has gained permission from the city parks staff and Parks and Recreation Commission to place the hearts around the flagpole in the veterans park, as long as the Visual Arts Commission approves the concept and accepts the art into the city collection.
But at the arts commission’s meeting Thursday, Associated Veterans President Harry Weber said the club thinks the heart project is not solemn enough for the veterans memorial park.
“I love the idea,” Weber said.
“I think the placement is wrong. It doesn’t feel right. ... It doesn’t feel solemn. It feels more joyful.”
After the meeting, Weber offered to help Browne and Stevens any way possible and suggested the veterans club might offer a donation toward the piece.
He also offered an idea for another location.
“Why can’t we take something like this and put it at the entrance to town?” Weber asked after the meeting. “I can see his dream where everyone is coming to the city.”
Stevens’ dream, his fire to bring a very specific military memorial to Loveland, was sparked last September when he attended the dedication of the national World War II memorial with thousands of other veterans.
He was one of 212 from Colorado and Wyoming who went for free on the Honor Flight to the dedication of the memorial in Washington.
Once he returned to Loveland, he was struck by a specific heart that is part of Engaging Loveland’s project — a mountain scene painted and sculpted by the Brownes.
The combination of hearts, mountains and military burned into Stevens’ heart as the perfect memorial for Loveland.
He hoped to use the same hearts but learned they are protected by copyright.
“We figured we could take the key elements and make a new work of art,” Kathy Browne said. “Hearts, mountains and sunsets are not copyrighted. It’s how they are put together.
“I thought, if I’m an artist worth my salt, I can put something together that honors Al’s dream and respects what Engaging Loveland has done.”
The Brownes and Stevens believe that is what they took to the Visual Arts Commission on Thursday.
The commission members listened to the proposal, which they said, like all public art ideas, will undergo serious deliberation.
They asked questions about material, maintenance and the possibility of a fifth heart.
As one member pointed out, the Coast Guard is considered an active branch of the military along with the four represented in Stevens’ plan — Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines.
The commission will make a decision at a future meeting.
Stevens left the meeting feeling dejected, but Browne said they would carry on and work to make the dream a reality.
To bring it from paper to park, Stevens needs to raise $20,000, or $25,000 if a Coast Guard heart is added.
He hopes to have the project installed by Veterans Day.
The fundraising has just begun, but Stevens already can picture veterans, young and old, and their families gathered at the hearts to take photos.
“This isn’t just for World War II veterans,” Stevens said. “It’s for anybody who ever put on a uniform in the United States.”
And their families.
And the community.
Ellie
By Pamela Dickman
Loveland Reporter-Herald
Tears well in Al Stevens’ eyes when he talks about “Patriot’s Dream” — a military memorial he is raising money to create in Loveland.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” said the veteran, looking at a picture of 4,048 stars along the national World War II memorial in Washington, D.C., each honoring 100 Americans killed in the war.
“I came home. I’m not one of those stars. I’m 83 years old. I want to do something before I die, and I think this is it.”
With help from local artists Kathy and Ron Browne, Stevens has turned his dream into a polyurethane resin plan — four hearts, each 6 feet tall, painted with the mountains and a sunset, and each bearing the seal of one of the branches of the U.S. military.
The back of each heart will be the same shape as the military’s Purple Heart medal and will bear a line from the song “America the Beautiful.”
The third heart will carry a line from the fourth verse of the song: “O beautiful for patriot dream.”
The name of the piece — which was presented to the Visual Arts Commission on Thursday evening — represents the song’s dream of a free America and the dream Stevens is trying to build in Loveland.
“Al is a patriot,” said Kathy Browne.
“And it’s his dream,” added Ron Browne, also a veteran.
Kathy added, “He has this dream, and it’s so powerful.”
But Stevens is facing some opposition to his dream.
Engaging Loveland, the group that has placed decorated fiberglass hearts around the city, said the proposal devalues its project.
And the Loveland Associated Veterans Club does not agree with the proposed location, Dwayne Webster Veterans Park at Grant Street and West Eisenhower Boulevard.
Stevens already has gained permission from the city parks staff and Parks and Recreation Commission to place the hearts around the flagpole in the veterans park, as long as the Visual Arts Commission approves the concept and accepts the art into the city collection.
But at the arts commission’s meeting Thursday, Associated Veterans President Harry Weber said the club thinks the heart project is not solemn enough for the veterans memorial park.
“I love the idea,” Weber said.
“I think the placement is wrong. It doesn’t feel right. ... It doesn’t feel solemn. It feels more joyful.”
After the meeting, Weber offered to help Browne and Stevens any way possible and suggested the veterans club might offer a donation toward the piece.
He also offered an idea for another location.
“Why can’t we take something like this and put it at the entrance to town?” Weber asked after the meeting. “I can see his dream where everyone is coming to the city.”
Stevens’ dream, his fire to bring a very specific military memorial to Loveland, was sparked last September when he attended the dedication of the national World War II memorial with thousands of other veterans.
He was one of 212 from Colorado and Wyoming who went for free on the Honor Flight to the dedication of the memorial in Washington.
Once he returned to Loveland, he was struck by a specific heart that is part of Engaging Loveland’s project — a mountain scene painted and sculpted by the Brownes.
The combination of hearts, mountains and military burned into Stevens’ heart as the perfect memorial for Loveland.
He hoped to use the same hearts but learned they are protected by copyright.
“We figured we could take the key elements and make a new work of art,” Kathy Browne said. “Hearts, mountains and sunsets are not copyrighted. It’s how they are put together.
“I thought, if I’m an artist worth my salt, I can put something together that honors Al’s dream and respects what Engaging Loveland has done.”
The Brownes and Stevens believe that is what they took to the Visual Arts Commission on Thursday.
The commission members listened to the proposal, which they said, like all public art ideas, will undergo serious deliberation.
They asked questions about material, maintenance and the possibility of a fifth heart.
As one member pointed out, the Coast Guard is considered an active branch of the military along with the four represented in Stevens’ plan — Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines.
The commission will make a decision at a future meeting.
Stevens left the meeting feeling dejected, but Browne said they would carry on and work to make the dream a reality.
To bring it from paper to park, Stevens needs to raise $20,000, or $25,000 if a Coast Guard heart is added.
He hopes to have the project installed by Veterans Day.
The fundraising has just begun, but Stevens already can picture veterans, young and old, and their families gathered at the hearts to take photos.
“This isn’t just for World War II veterans,” Stevens said. “It’s for anybody who ever put on a uniform in the United States.”
And their families.
And the community.
Ellie