With Monday being Veterans Day, the Orange County Veterans Memorial’s leadership held its customary ceremony to honor the holiday and local veterans. Dozens of attendees – veterans, family members, elected officials and county staff – gathered in the Southern Human Services Center Monday morning for the event.
But this year was different from those that came before, as a beloved member of that organizing group recently passed.
Organized by the Orange County Veterans Memorial Committee, the event took place a few yards away from the outdoor memorial site due to wet conditions. Per tradition, the program included a keynote speech featuring a veteran with a remarkable story. This year, that was 92-year-old Captain Alfred Scott McLaren – a retired submarine officer and polar explorer with the U.S. Navy, who lives in Chapel Hill. His speech featured several stories about the ups-and-downs of life at sea, a push for more people with military ties to be considered for elected office, and a closing message about the depth of impact service has.
“I think many people don’t realize,” McLaren said, “all veterans – one way or another – pay for their military service with their lives. Some pay for it all at once, others over their entire lifetime. And as for their families, the price they pay can only be imagined.”
Captain Alfred Scott McLaren speaks to the gathered crowd as the keynote speaker for the Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.
One example of the latter was one of Orange County’s longstanding veterans, who died in September and whose presence at Monday’s ceremony was missed by some of the attendees. Lee Heavlin was one of the original committee members to push for the Orange County Veterans Memorial, and a key figure in its fundraising and initial construction since he often handled communications for the project. The retired Master Chief Petty Officer also was active the American Legion Chapel Hill Post No. 6 and in the Carrboro community in which he lived for decades.
Heavlin’s daughter, Lauralee Long, said she believes the veterans memorial is part of her father’s legacy – and was touched by the inclusion of Lee’s obituary in the programs handed out on Monday. She said it was challenging to balance the emotions of Veterans Day while it felt more like Memorial Day to her. But when describing Lee’s dedication to contributing to the stonework at the base of the memorial – which features names of donors, veterans, and other honorees – Lauralee’s spirits lifted.
“He’s honored many of his family members and done a lot of ancestry work, and every time he finds someone new, he gets a new paver,” Long said with a laugh. “This [Veterans Day] service, rain or shine, it does happen. And I look forward to next year as the sun will come out again, and those new pavers will be in there.”
North Carolina Rep. Renée Price, who worked both on the memorial committee and in her capacity as an Orange County commissioner to help the project, brought up Heavlin in her comments to the gathered crowd Monday. She described him as an “ever-present” figure, and a generous donor when it came to the Orange County Veterans Memorial.
“We all did, but especially Lee, wanted to make sure that every veteran could be remembered,” Price told Chapelboro, “And [so], he set up a scholarship fund. He was willing to take money out of his own pocket to make sure that anyone, from any family, could be recognized.”
David Chandler, a former Air Force commander and one of the committee members who served alongside Heavlin, described him as “integral” to the effort around the memorial and helping raise awareness for its cause. Now, the committee is moving forward and using the foundation established alongside the sailor to focus on the next phases of the memorial. After breaking ground in 2017 – nearly a decade after the effort to find a spot began – the memorial boasts a permanent flagpole with that intricate stonework and nighttime lighting.
The Orange County Veterans Memorial in its current form on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.
The latest stage of construction includes building a gazebo for shelter, an information kiosk, and the utility infrastructure to have power at the memorial site. After that, Phase 4 of the project will feature several levels of beautification, including landscaping the spot to make it more accessible and appealing.
The fundraising to meet those next construction goals will begin soon. Fellow committee member and retired Navy captain John Cocowitch said despite it being a challenge without Heavlin’s contributions, the project and its purpose of honoring the veteran community continues.
“No man is an island,” Cocowitch said. “Lee was critical, Lee had key roles and responsibilities. But the fact we have a team, we’re able to do our best to pick up the pieces, make some substitutions, figure out how we’re going to do the work around [his loss.] It wasn’t fun to do that, but we’re prepared to do that.”
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines