2008-10-20

Brick by brick, Vets honored

World War I widow attends dedication ceremony
Ann Williamson / The Capital-Journal Topeka West Army ROTC member Andrew Martin hands Pauline Miller a United States flag during the dedication of bricks Saturday at Gage Park Memorial. Miller, 103, is the widow of Karl Miller, who served in World War I.

By Kevin Elliott
The Capital-Journal
Karl Miller didn't often discuss the things he saw in Europe while stationed in France during World War I, his widow said. "He was never a man to talk about his war," Pauline Miller said. But once, she said, her husband told her of the time he was coming out of a trench with a group of men and received an injury to his head. It is what caused some of his problems, she said. At 103, Pauline is said to be one of two World War I veteran's widows alive in the country. Karl, who passed away about 15 years ago, was honored Saturday during a dedication ceremony at Topeka's Gage Park Memorial, near S.W. 10th and Gage. The all-veterans memorial consists of a hexagonal sidewalk lined with more than 2,000 bricks that will be engraved with the names of former and active members of the military. Each of the six sides of the sidewalk represents a different era in American military history. The memorial receives funds though the nonprofit N.W. Kansas Korean War Memorial Association. Karl Miller's name was added Saturday to the 102 others already engraved in the bricks at the memorial. Two buglers dressed in World War I uniforms played Taps as cadets from Topeka West's JRROTC program presented Pauline Miller with a folded flag and bouquet of flowers. The flowers were placed next to Karl's brick, which was donated by the Women's Auxiliary Post 1650. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the second annual Memorial Bike Ride, which made its first stop at 11:15 a.m. at the memorial. The motorcycle riders who participated in the ride have given tremendous support to the memorial and are dedicated to making it an annual event, said Rance Sackrider, a memorial association board member. "It took the help of everybody to create this memorial," Sackrider said. "Not just one person." The completed Korean War veterans memorial stands on the northeast side of the hexagon. A World War I memorial topped with a bronze sculpture of an eagle and her chick has also been completed. The association now hopes to raise $140,000 for an 8-foot statue to all veterans to stand in the middle of the hexagon. "This could be something really big the city," Sackrider said. "We're trying to put Topeka on the map with memorials." Kevin Elliott can be reached at (785) 295-1192 or or kevin.elliott@cjonline.com