Welcome to a short multi at Cornelius Veterans Memorial Park.
This site, formerly Cornelius’s Arboretum Park, started with a square concrete memorial block etched "in memory of Col. Charles W. Munford," in the grass.
Then came a wooden bench with a sign honoring Navy Corpsman Ryley "Doc" Gallinger-Long, who was killed in Afghanistan.
Visiting the park, Cornelius resident Amber Gilley thought, what about other deceased local veterans. What if the city could honor all of them?
She spearheaded what ultimately became a community effort that totaled around $10,000 in donated money, supplies and labor, and honors all veterans from western Washington County, regardless of the cause of death or when they served.
You will find the final at N 45° 31.ABC W 123° 03.DEF
The posted coordinates will bring you to a sculpture of a “Battlefield Cross”.
The artist’s name is on the backside of the pedestal, by the copyright date. If the artist is:
- Richard Rist, A = 1
- Rebecca Buchanan, A = 3
- Dave Huebsch, A = 5
- Dawn Corey Kelly, A = 7
The Blue Star Memorial Plaque is a tribute to the Armed Forces who have defended the United States of America. This Blue Star Memorial is sponsored by:
- The American Legion, B = 5
- Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, B = 6
- Veterans of Foreign Wars, B = 7
- City of Cornelius, B = 8
There is a bench with two memorial plaques.
The plaque on the left of the bench is in memory of a CPL in the US Marine Corps.
C = the last digit of the year he died plus 1.
The plaque on the right of the bench is in memory of Kenny Leisten.
D = the number of letters before Kenny’s name.
There is a bench with one memorial plaque in memory of a Navy Corpsman.
E = the number of letters in “Doc’s” first name.
At the top of the black wall at the back of the memorial, there are five circular plaques. The one in the middle is:
- Department of the Army, F = 5
- Department of the Navy, F = 6
- Department of the Air Force, F = 7
- United States Marine Corps, F = 8
- United States Coast Guard, F = 9
The checksum (total) of the numbers you got for A through F = 31.