Picts

PROGRESS OF THE RING RETIREES LIVING MEMORIAL
From February 8, 2008, to the Groundbreaking on May 23, 2009

Pictures by members of the RINGRA Memorial Committee.

8 Feb. 2008: R.I.N.G. Retirees Association members of the Memorial Committee tour the newly assigned site.

8 March 2008: Volunteers who donated their time and equipment cut down trees and haul away the branches and logs.

The Site: The Memorial is located on the main drive in the R.I. Veterans Cemetery in Exeter. The view above is from our site looking North.

3-4 May 2008: The cleared site (above). The stumps were pulled by the Air Guard and the cemetery took care of their removal.

4 July 2008: We had a "float" in the Cumberland Fourth of July parade, with donated labor and our own "Minuteman."

13 Sept. 2008: Army Guard grades the site prior to the concrete forms being installed. The first round of paving bricks are delivered.

During the winter: Text and seals are applied on two models as we edit the text and decide on placement.

16-23 Oct. 2008: A full size mock-up is built at Riverside Stone. From this, we begin to plan the lettering that will be engraved.

16 Nov. 2008: We visit the WWII memorial in Providence to get a sense of scale for the text.

11 Feb. 2009: A sign goes up at the site explaining to the public what we're doing. (Left)

Also, the stone for the benches from Rock of Ages in Vermont is delivered to Riverside Stone. (Right)

16 Mar. 2009: Final text is sized and tried out on the full size mock-up. Agreement is unanimous on sizing and content of text.

3 April 2009: Rebars and forms are finalized and aligned and the first pour of three is done for the base of the three large slabs.

5-6 April 2009: Rebars and forms are set on the 5th: Second pour on the 6th for the three slab supports and the statue base.

8 April 2009: Final forms are in place for the last pour. NOTE: The gravel, rebars, form work and concrete were donated.

13 April 2009: The Granite monument slabs will sit on the tops of these foundations, fill will be added and the paving bricks will sit on the sand between the granite pieces.

21 April 2009:
We installed our display in the
hallway of the CRC in Cranston, which includes a floor plan for the bricks,
the scale model with the final text and images, including the statue of the Minuteman, and down below, some of the actual paving bricks that will be used in the final construction.

2-3 May 2009: Real-world OJT for the 861st Engineer Company (RIARNG) begins the fill process to bring the final grade up to the tops of the concrete slabs. Another weekend drill in June will finish the fill.

All is ready:
Safety helmets and shovels at the ready: the cemetery was very helpful in providing chairs, routing posts and tape, podium and other support.

Meanwhile, dignitaries and attendees begin to gather for the 2:00 p.m. ceremony.

THE GROUNDBREAKING: May 23, 2009

Many attend:
The Combat Veterans Association bikers were among the hundred or so people who attended the groundbreaking. Channels 10 and 6 covered the event also.

Speakers:
LEFT: U.S. Senator Jack Reed opens the speaking program with remarks on the importance of the National Guard to the nation's security.

BELOW: MG Robert T. Bray, the R.I. Adjutant General and Commanding General, during his remarks, acknowledges the contribution that Committee Chair Bob Urquhart (foreground in red cap) has made to the Memorial project.

The ground is broken:
Invitees, speakers and committee members break ground. Left to right:
Bob Urquhart, LTC (Ret) Memorial Committe chair; State Senator Edward O'Neill; R.I. Representative Karen MacBeth, House Veterans Committee, and son; MG Bray, Senator Reed, Tom Rezendes, CSM (Ret) of Parisault Builders who has been instrumental in lining up the construction work to date, and CSM (Ret) Bill O'Mara, RING Retirees VP and Memorial Committee treasurer.

Members of the OSCRI HOGS, who will sponsor a Poker Run Sunday, June 14, to raise funds for the memorial, also attended.

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NOTE:

We still need your donations and brick purchases in order to maintain the site and statue. Still room for more bricks.

Click HERE to print the doonation and brick order forms.