Tomah Area Veterans Memorial

The Tomah Area Veterans Memorial was formed by local veterans to honor the community’s strong military heritage. In 2009 a design was selected and fundraising began. Groundbreaking occurred in July, 2010 and Phase I was dedicated in September, 2011 at a large community celebration, with over 1,000 in attendance.

The Memorial consists of a large gray granite monument as the focal center piece. There are three walls between four pillars that surround the back and sides of the monument, each covered by granite tiles or mason bricks carrying messages from the project’s donors. There are two black granite monoliths in front of the Memorial, one is the dedication marker and the second represents Tomah’s Killed-in-Action roll call.

Phase 2 was completed in the spring of 2012, with the addition of two new “pier” structures for additional bricks and tiles.  Tiles and bricks will be added at a minimum of twice a year.  Phase 3 will includes the possible addition of sidewalks and individual service memorials for each branch of service.  Plans are currently being worked on for that phase.

The Tomah Area Veterans Memorial is located in newly renamed Memorial Park just north of downtown Tomah.  The site was already home to a WWII vintage U.S. Army M4A4 Sherman Tank and was the logical site choice. The outdoor Memorial is open year-round.

Sources: Tomah Area Guide, published by Tomah Area Chamber of Commerce Convention & Visitors Bureau, and tomahveteransmemorical.com