Members of the Middleton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8216 initiated a process to build a Veterans Memorial for the Middleton Area Community. There are many ideas embedded in the Middleton Community Veterans Tribute, starting with the project name. The “Middleton Community” is hopeful of capturing and recognizing the support and sacrifice coming from veterans’ families, neighbors and the community at large as well as the veterans themselves. A “Tribute” as opposed to a Memorial intends on recognizing all that served and while special mention is made of those killed in action, the project is not solely about those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. In fact, in dedication of the Tribute the higher aspiration is that the timeline organizing the columns with the names of the deceased will cease. That through reflection and education, the timeline of armed conflict will be finished. 

​

A planning committee, with strong ties to the City of Middleton, including former City staff and a former Mayor, were able to earmark an underutilized area of Middleton’s Lakeview Park as a site. Committee members led fundraising efforts throughout the community, realizing contributions in cash and in-kind services and materials. They also authored donor recognition text and circulated it to the wide variety of individuals, businesses and organizations that contributed to the project’s realization. In the end, the project is very much the product of a community-wide effort.