October 15, 2019
St. Charles County, Missouri—St. Charles County Government, the St. Charles County Veterans Committee and the St. Charles City Veterans Commission will host a special Veterans Day Ceremony at 1 p.m., Monday, Nov. 11, at Veterans Tribute Park, 1031 Kisker Road in Weldon Spring. The event will be held at the park’s Veterans Memorial Garden, which will be open to the public for the first time on that day.
Overlooking the park’s two lakes, the garden will feature a Veterans Memorial Plaza with the names of St. Charles County soldiers who died in service to our nation engraved on stone panels. A Tribute Walk leading up to the memorial will showcase interpretive panels covering conflicts from the time St. Charles County was organized in 1812 to present day, along with plantings that bloom or have vibrant color at the end of each war.
Speakers for the event will be County Executive Steve Ehlmann and Lt. Col. Samuel W. Kline, Commander of the 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Chemical Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood. District 3 County Councilman Mike Elam, who served in the United States Navy, will serve as Master of Ceremonies, and District 4 County Councilman Dave Hammond, a U.S. Army veteran, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayors Dan Borgmeyer, St. Charles; Len Pagano, St. Peters; and Nick Guccione, Wentzville, all veterans, will read the names of St. Charles County soldiers who died while serving our country.
Other guests participating in the ceremony include the St. Charles County Police Department Honor Guard; accomplished singer/songwriter Rev. Dr. Randy Mayfield; and Monsignor Michael Butler, pastor of Saint Clement of Rome Catholic Church in Des Peres and a retired U.S. Air Force and Missouri National Guard chaplain. The Korean War Veterans Association Chapter 6 will lay a wreath at the memorial, St. Charles American Legion Post 312 will perform a 21-gun salute, and local businessman/musician Mike Boschert will end the program with Taps.
Weather permitting, the ceremony will be followed by activities for children and their families under the adjacent Sammelman Pavilion in the park. Patriotic crafts and activities will be presented by the St. Charles County Parks Department, St. Charles City-County Library District, and St. Charles County Veterans Museum. The County Parks Foundation will sell commemorative bricks for the garden’s Memorial Plaza, and the St. Charles County Government Veterans Best Practices Working Group is hosting a “Support Our Troops Care Package Drive” for soldiers overseas.
The public is welcome to attend; refreshments will be served. For more information about the event or care package item requests, visit stccparks.org.