Siler City’s Bray Park contains an impressive Veterans Memorial: the West Chatham Veterans Memorial. The County did a great job with it. Going a different direction than a statue or a bas-relief memorial, the eight monument pillars are smooth, gradually increasing in height pointing toward the middle slab topped by an eagle. All branches of the military are represented. Around the perimeter are bench-like markers donated by or in remembrance of a specific conflict, person, or event. The names of veterans from the area are etched on the slabs on both sides, but don’t appear to be in alphabetical order. I guess that it makes it easier to add names to the wall. Any veteran is allowed to have his or her name added. What is unusual is the series of letters following each name, listing the conflict in which he or she served. Most are easy to figure out, but there is a separate display with the abbreviations if needed. On the day I visited, it was raining pretty hard, so I almost didn’t stop. The irony of having an issue with standing out in the rain at a memorial honoring those who experienced far worse than a drenching, was enough to make me deal with it. I’m glad I did. It’s a nice place.
