By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Dozens of veterans and their families from across Connecticut, joined by city and state leaders and members of West Haven’s Veterans Council and three fire departments, came out late May 27 to help dedicate 51 bricks as part of Phase 15 of the Veterans Walk of Honor.
The patriotic crowd, many wearing red, white and blue, gathered along the Walk of Honor in the heart of Bradley Point Park as Mayor Nancy R. Rossi delivered poignant remarks dedicating the new bricks.
“Thank you to the West Haven Veterans Council for continuing this tradition as well as city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo for overseeing the construction each year (of the walkway’s bricks),” said Rossi, speaking in front of a black granite memorial in commemoration of World War II Army Pfc. William A. Soderman.
Rossi continued: “I hope that each of you are able to take a moment today spending time with each installment. I am deeply proud of West Haven’s commitment to its veterans and believe our Veterans Walk of Honor is truly exemplary. I would like to thank each veteran for their service, their courage and their commitment to our country.”
Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy served as the master of ceremonies.
The seaside ceremony also featured remarks by Veterans Council Treasurer Steve Carney, an Army vet who served in the Vietnam War, who read a poem written by Army Maj. Michael Davis O’Donnell on New Year’s Day 1970 at the Battle of Dak To in Vietnam.
The late-afternoon program commenced with a procession of local and state officials and West Haven fire chiefs and officers and followed with a flag-raising by the West Haven Fire Department Honor Guard, composed of members of the West Haven Fire Department, the West Shore Fire Department and the City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown.
It included the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by West Haven High School sophomore Zoe Powell, a prayer by Vertical Church Pastor Paul Bronson and the singing of “God Bless America,” also by Powell.
The 20-minute event concluded with a wreath-laying at the base of the William A. Soderman Memorial by Vietnam Army veterans Mark Levine and Al Beck Sr., followed by taps played by retired West Shore fire Lt. Kevin McKeon.
Levine was this year’s grand marshal of the Memorial Day parade, and Beck is the Veterans Council’s vice president.
After the ceremony, families lined the Walk of Honor to search for bricks they purchased in honor of loved ones, both living and deceased. Each $75 brick has a personalized message engraved in charcoal lettering.
In November 2006, the Veterans Council began the first of 15 campaigns selling bricks to memorialize vets on the 100-yard walkway between the Soderman and Vietnam Veterans memorials.
About 2,950 bricks have been installed to date, including 58 for Phase 14, which was dedicated June 4, 2022.
Phase 1 of the Walk of Honor was dedicated in May 2007, along with a memorial to Korean War veterans.
In May 2008, Phase 2 of the walkway and the Soderman memorial were dedicated.
Soderman received the Medal of Honor after he distinguished himself in December 1944 while defending an important road junction near Rocherath, Belgium.
On July 1, 1984, Bradley Point Park’s flagpole was dedicated in memory of Soderman, who died in 1980.
Also in 2008, 14 grave markers signifying every war in U.S. history and peacetime were dedicated. The markers are mounted on granite posts.
In addition to overseeing the construction of all phases of the walkway, which was built by City Point Construction Co. of West Haven, Sabo has supervised the design and placement of the granite Korean War and Soderman memorials, which were made by Shelley Bros. Monuments of Guilford.
In May 2015, the dedication of Phase 8 included the dedication of a granite stone in memory of Veterans Council President Lorelee “Lori” Grenfell, who died in 2015 at age 60. The memorial was crafted by Giordano Bros. Monuments of West Haven.