STOCKTON – A year’s worth of work came to fruition Saturday morning. Around 100 veterans and family members gathered at Bicentennial Park for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“Ernie Baker was the backbone of this project,” said John Jackson, director of the Baldwin County Department of Archives and History. “We started talking about a year ago and he took off with it. He even spearheaded the design and fund raising aspects.”

Baker admitted he was at a bit of a loss when he started working on the project — at least until he found the right group.

“I started talking with vets around the county,” said Baker. “When I got to the Vietnam Veterans of America in Fairhope, they jumped right up to sponsor this thing.”

With the help of VVA, Baker raised the bulk of the money needed to have the black granite monument carved. The design process took a while. Baker and Jackson canvassed the county’s Vietnam veterans to see what they wanted on the monument. The result is a simple design that shows the camaraderie of the soldiers as well as the reasons for the war and the costs our country and Baldwin County paid in the lives of soldiers.

“When you carve something in stone, people will still be looking at it 100 years from now,” said Baker. “I hope it means something to them when they read it.”

The monument is located in a semicircle not far from the entrance Bicentennial Park, just south of Stockton on State Highway 225. The area is designed to be the home of monuments to all the military conflicts Baldwin County has been involved with.

“We’ve already got monuments to the Revolutionary War, the Indian Wars, the Civil War and the War on Terrorism,” said Jackson. “We plan to establish a World War II committee later this summer and in the fall we will start on the War of 1812.

“That will leave us with World War I, the Spanish American War and Korea. The good thing is all of these are sponsored by groups outside the county (administration). They do all the heavy lifting, including the fund raising, so it doesn’t use taxpayer money.”

Baker said the monument cost around $7,000. The bulk of the money was raised through various veterans’ organizations, including the Disabled American Veterans in Loxley, the American Legion in Bay Minette and the VVA groups in Fairhope and Mobile. When the fund raising came up a short, an anonymous citizen stepped up and agreed to cover the rest of the costs to complete the project.

“If anyone still wants to donate, we are still accepting them,” said Baker.

Anyone wishing to contribute monetarily can contact Jackson at his Bay Minette office by calling 251-580-1897.