Rep. David Price, Local Officials Honor Orange County Veterans with Ceremony

One hundred years after President Woodrow Wilson first declared Armistice Day, local representatives and the Orange County veterans community gathered to celebrate and recognize the efforts of those who served.

The Veterans Day Ceremony was held at the site of the Orange County Veterans Memorial, located by the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill. Representatives from the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough spoke alongside Orange County commissioners and local veterans.

US Representative David Price, who represents North Carolina District 4 where Orange County resides, also shared his thoughts on the importance of remembering veterans’ service to their country. He advocated for improved funding for veterans’ programs across the United States, saying spending for military and veterans’ resources is being hindered by the allocation of funds for President Donald Trump’s southern border wall.

“It should not and must not stand in the way of full funding for the VA and our military needs,” said Price. “We have got to get back to the day where [legislation like that] was the easiest and most bipartisan bills to pass, and we did not have items [like the border wall] that were creating political difficulties.”

Another part of the ceremony was the recognition of the memorial and its progress of private fundraising to complete the rest of its designs. Phase 1 of the Orange County Veterans Memorial was completed in late 2017, which included the installation of a temporary flagpole and walking trails on the grated plot off Homestead Road.

Lee Heavlin, who served in the U.S. Navy, is the treasurer for the committee raising money to build the memorial. He said having a physical place for reflection to the county’s veterans is important because of its symbolism of gratitude.

“We don’t have a memorial anywhere in the county [made] by the people and county for veterans,” Heavlin said. “This is going to be 200-plus years of recognition in one spot on a premier site.”

Co-chair of the Orange County Veterans Memorial Committee and Navy veteran Bruce Runberg shared what Phase 2 of the site will look like, with construction expected to begin in about 30 days.

“Phase 2, which we now feel we have enough money for, [will be] a permanent flagpole area, along with lighting for it and brick and stonework around it,” said Runberg. “So, we’re making progress.”

The Memorial Committee says they are aiming to raise $450,000 for the full memorial to be completed, and fundraising is almost a quarter of the way to the goal. In addition to online donations, the committee holds a jiu jitsu tournament around every Veterans Day and Memorial Day each year, with all proceeds going to the memorial’s fund. Runberg says this year’s contest, which was held on Saturday, had 300 participants.

Before the ceremony came to a close, Price shared the words of President Dwight Eisenhower when he changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954.

“‘On this day, let us solidly remember,” Price read, “the sacrifices of those who fought on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores to preserve the heritage of freedom. Let us consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting and enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.’”

For more information on the Orange County Veterans Memorial, visit its website.

Rep. David Price, Local Officials Honor Orange County Veterans with Ceremony

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