Staff report
Photos by Capt. Stephen D. Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office
Click here for more photos of this event.
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Adjutant General Edward W. Tonini was on hand at the unveiling of a model of the proposed Kentucky National Guard memorial at Boone National Guard Center Oct. 26.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Adjutant General Edward W. Tonini watches as designer Jon Hofmann describes the model of the Kentucky National Guard Memorial that was unveiled at the Boone Center on Oct. 26, 2011. (Photo by Capt. Stephen D. Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office)"]
The model, measuring approximately three foot across, shows the complete layout of the memorial including a replica of the granite silhouette of Kentucky, trees and lighting.
"This model puts us ahead in telling the story of the memorial and letting people know what it's all about," said Tonini. "We can now show that this is more than a dream. It is real and it is going to happen.
"We put a lot of work into making this model as accurate as possible," said Jon Hofmann, a designer with Archimod, LLC, the company that created the model. "It was important that we got it right."
"It was a great honor to be part of this project," said Hofmann.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="192" caption="Artist Wyatt Gragg designed the statue of Daniel Boone that will serve as the centerpiece of the Kentucky National Guard Memorial. The final rendition will be more than seven feet tall. "You won't find any coon skin cap," joked Gragg. (Photo by Capt. Stephen D. Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office)"]
Also on hand for the unveiling was artist Wyatt Gragg, who created the bronze sculpture of Daniel Boone that will serve as the centerpiece of the memorial. Standing at more than seven feet in height, the final statue will be a detailed rendition of one the Commonwealth's greatest explorers, complete with Kentucky rifle and period hunting gear.
"You won't find any coon skin cap," joked Gragg.
John Trowbridge is the Kentucky National Guard Command historian. He's also the chairman of the memorial board.
"It's our intent to include on the memorial the names of those who have perished in the line of duty in performance of their military duties with the Kentucky National Guard from March 1912 to present in any duty status," said Trowbridge. "And it's not just those who died in the theater of war. Some were in training while others died serving during natural disaster and emergency here at home."
Nearly 400 names have been collected to date and more are coming in as the project continues.
Funding for the memorial is provided entirely through private donations. To find out more about the project visit
www.kyngmemorial.com.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Col. Steve King, Kentucky National Guard construction and facilities manager, describes the design of the proposed memorial. (Photo by Capt. Stephen D. Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office)"]
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Built in LED lighting demonstrates how the Kentucky National Guard Memorial will look at night. (Photo by Capt. Stephen D. Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office)"]
