Veterans begin their quest for memorial at Riverfront Park

Saying plans are still in the “preliminary stages,” a group of four military veterans are forming committees and seeking support for a military memorial in Riverfront Park.

“We still need to talk to members of the VFW and American Legion,” said Brent Teske, a Navy veteran. “This still is in the very early stages.”

Teske and Terry Andreessen floated the idea recently to City Council members, and Mayor Doug Roll, a Marines veteran, likes the idea.

“I think it’d be great if we had something like that in Libby,” Roll said. 

Roll made the comment after it was learned veterans were granted the pie-shapeed island just west of City Hall.

“That’s a nice (adjacent to City Hall) spot, but I think these guys really want to be at Riverfront Park,” Roll said.

On Friday, the group was at the park, and they are considering the area between the Fred Brown and Asbestos Memorial pavilions.

“We’ll just have to see what the city says. We’d prefer to have it here,”  Andreessen said turning and looking toward the Kootenai River.

The committee consists of Teske, Andreessen, Ken Mancuso and Dennis Osborne. Both Mancuso and Osborne are Marine veterans; Andreessen is an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, as did Mancuso.

Among the ideas the group is considering, is a pentagon configuration in which every branch of the military would be represented.

Teske also said among the funding options are to sell bricks commemorating veterans that would be used as a walkway.

“I’ve already heard from so many people who want to be a part of this,” Mancuso said.

Still, Teske said the group plans soon to meet with veterans organizations.

“Please, let the public know, this is still very preliminary,” Teske said. “We’ll get further word out as this develops.”