GREENFIELD — When Rick Walker visits the Hancock County Veterans Park, sometimes he overhears other visitors’ reactions as they read the names on the commemorative bricks.
They’re often surprised to learn about people they’ve known in the community but did not know spent time in the military, he said, whether it’s a former science teacher, a plumber or the guy who installed their water heater.
It even happened to him once, back when he chaired the committee that created the park, and an order for a brick informed him that the woman who delivered his eldest daughter had been a nurse overseas during World War II.
"These people that we commemorate in this park are… the lifeblood of our community," Walker said. "They have had so many life lessons and realized how good it is to be in a country like this, that they bring that back to this community and they live their lives like that. It’s great that we have these people in this community."
As of May 8, 2020, the park has been honoring that community lifeblood for 10 years.
The park, located in downtown Greenfield at the southwest corner of State and West South streets, features large, black, laser-etched granite panels honoring veterans of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine along with a center panel representing the nation. Flags wave for each of the military branches, as do the American flag and one recognizing prisoners of war and the missing in action.
The Tears from a Grateful Heart sculpture, depicting a soldier deep in reflection, faces a Battlefield Cross sculpture, made up of a helmet-topped rifle in the ground flanked by a soldier’s boots. U.S. military images fill two large panels from the American Revolution to the War on Terror. Engraved bricks list Hancock County’s casualties from the Civil War through the Vietnam War. A Purple Heart Memorial represents the military award given to those wounded or killed in combat. The park includes more than 1,500 engraved bricks purchased by family members and friends to honor the service of veterans.
More than $200,000 was raised for the project through private citizens, local businesses and other organizations at a time when the U.S. economy was reeling from the Great Recession. The park was dedicated on May 8, 2010, before an audience of about 600 people.
Walker, an Army veteran, recalled how decades ago the local Rotary Club put crosses on the courthouse lawn to remember county residents who lost their lives while serving in the military.
"Somebody said we ought to have something more permanent, something we can have all year round," he said.
The idea was born for a park that not only honored those who lost their lives, but all who served.
Walker remembers then-Mayor Brad DeReamer’s support for the project and how everyone came together to make the park happen.
"I always say it was a perfect storm because everybody seemed to have a certain talent," Walker said, whether it was imagination, extensive military knowledge or flag protocol, to name a few.
The organizing committee was able to secure a site where the former city hall once stood, right in the heart of downtown.
"We wanted it to be in a place where when you drove by, you couldn’t miss it," Walker said.
Donations came pouring in, both monetarily and in kind.
"As much as my imagination thought that it would be nice, it ended up light years better than what I ever imagined," Walker said. "I’m just so proud of it."
The committee’s mission was clear.
"We wanted the park to be about the men and women that have served this country in the past, serve it now and be an inspiration for those we need to serve this country in the future," Walker said.
Not all military members serve in times of war or come under fire, but all made a decision to act without knowing what their destiny would be, he continued.
"They gave a part of their life and helped keep this country strong, safe and free," he said.
Throughout the past decade, Walker has seen people embracing one another in the park, crying as they looked at a brick honoring a loved one. The park even was the setting for a celebration for a military promotion.
"It’s just a wonderful thing," he said. "One of the neatest things I’ve ever been a part of in my life — serving with the people that helped build that veterans park."
Walker said David Hine, an Air Force veteran, was part of the perfect storm behind the park’s creation by contributing his knack for detail and good ideas.
Hine recalls being grateful for the land the city donated for the park and all of the support from the community and businesses.
"We couldn’t have done it without them," he said.
He remembers how hundreds turned out for the dedication despite an uncharacteristically cold and windy May day.
"To see that many people come out with the weather the way it was and show their support, it was phenomenal, it was just great," Hine said.
Whenever he drives by the park during warmer months, there’s usually someone visiting, he continued.
Jerry Bean, the park’s current president, was also involved in its creation. The Army veteran recalled himself and others studying veterans parks in Indiana for inspiration. He has fond memories of the stark transformation the empty lot underwent and the way the community came together.
"It really makes me feel proud," he said.
That pride continues every time a teacher brings a class to the park, a motorcycle club makes it a stop on their trip or someone just stops him to tell him they think the park is beautiful, Bean added.
Walker encourages those who want to be involved with the park to call him at 317-462-6122
"We need new energy, need new ideas," he said.
For those visiting the park in search of a specific brick, a brick locator index is in the mailbox on the left near the park’s entrance. The mailbox also contains brick order forms for those interested in ordering one for a veteran. Additional information about the park is available at greenfieldin.org/residents/hancock-county-veterans-park.
Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the park from holding an anniversary celebration.
"Maybe at 15 years," Hine said.
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"We wanted the park to be about the men and women that have served this country in the past, serve it now and be an inspiration for those we need to serve this country in the future."
Rick Walker
Hancock County Veterans Park organizing chairman
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