Veteran memorial unveiled

Brushing away tears, Ronna Jackson felt happy people remembered veterans like her son.

On Saturday morning, Jackson, who lost her son John Reiners in Afghanistan in 2010, looked around at the about 60 people who attended an unveiling of a Blue Star Memorial Marker at Veterans Memorial Park, located at 7400 SW 41st Place, and said her son would be gratified to see the memorial and its unveiling ceremony.

“He would be honored,” Jackson said. “He would be very proud, he truly would be.”

Veterans and their family members watched as a brown burlap covering came off the 7-foot-6-inch-tall sign, which was adorned with a wreath of white flowers. Gainesville Garden Club Inc. paid $1,500 for the sign.

The Blue Star Memorial Marker Program, an initiative by the National Garden Clubs Inc., is a tribute to men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces. The memorial in Veterans Memorial Park is the third in Alachua County.

Fran Maris, the president of the Gainesville chapter of the national garden club, said she looks forward to how visible the sign will be in the popular park.

“Kids come here, adults come here, veterans come here, regular people come here,” she said. “We can show our appreciation for our veterans by putting it here in a place that is very visible.”

At the foot of the sign, flowers such as blue daze, red fountain grass, blue plumbagos and white pentas grow, showcasing red, white and blue.

Like other mothers, Jackson said she feels grateful for veterans’ service and hopes the sign expresses appreciation for those like her son.

“Without our veterans, we don’t have the freedom to even get up in our own homes without the worry of being bombed or shot at,” Jackson said. “We owe everything to our veterans, and this is just one more way of showing honor and tributing them.”

A Blue Star Memorial Marker was unveiled at Veterans Memorial Park, located at 7400 SW 41st Place, on Saturday morning. It’s the third memorial marker in Alachua County.