September 17, 2024 9:20 a.m.

A rededication ceremony for the Douglas County Veterans War Memorial will be held Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m.

It is located in front of the Douglas County Courthouse on Southeast Douglas Avenue in downtown Roseburg.

The memorial was originally built in 1971 to display a list of the county’s casualties of war. Over the years, it has been added to, with plaques containing names of fallen wartime individuals and new battles and conflicts. The memorial underwent a small restoration project in 2007, but several repair items were not able to be completed, due to budget constraints. In July 0f 2023, Douglas County was awarded an Oregon Heritage – Veterans and War Memorial grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

The OPRD grant, in the amount of nearly $59,000, required a 20 percent match in funding and donations which came from the county, local veteran’s community organizations and in-kind donations. The renovation began in September of 2023 and took about a year to complete.

The ceremony will feature the raising, for the first time, of the POW/MIA flag over the courthouse grounds, a wreath laying ceremony, the singing of the national anthem, a 21-gun salute, and more. The keynote speaker will be County Commissioner Tim Freeman. Jim Little will be the emcee for the event, which is open to the public.