A former Okmulgee County resident has started a project to honor all the servicemen and women who have fallen in battle since World War One.
Thomas Payne said he has seen similar monuments around the state but was dismayed to find none exist at the Okmulgee County court house.
He said he has met with county commissioners who gave him unanimous approval to set a monument on the west side of the building. The only problem is, it will have to be built with private funds.
To accomplish that, Payne, who now lives in Tulsa, has started a fundraising effort
“This is going to take us about $60,000 to $65,000,”he said.
He has the list of names of those service members who would be placed on the rose granite monument. There will be over 200 names on that memorial when finished. “I think that would be a moving tribute to the men who died,” he said.
Anyone wishing to donate can send the donations to:
Okmulgee County Veterans Memorial c/o Thomas Payne, 9920 S. Louisville Ave., Tulsa, OK 74137.
He has also set up a GoFundMe page that can be reached at: www.gofundme.com/okmulgee-county-war-memorial