MACKINAW -- People will be able to leave their personal mark on a new veterans monument that will be dedicated on Veterans Day in Mackinaw's village park.

A World War II naval cannon will be the centerpiece of the installation in Veterans Park in the town square. The pentagon-shaped monument will feature concrete pillars bearing brass emblems for the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force and a 2-foot-tall "reflecting wall" that people will be able to sit on, said James Madson, commander of Emery Whisler American Legion Post 607.

While those symbols honor the armed services as a whole, field of engraved bricks allows people to commemorate individuals as a way to help pay for the monument.

"The plot will hold about 800 bricks --our initial goal was 200," said Legion member Jim Wheat of Tremont, who heads the committee of eight people who moved the monument from drawing board to reality. Some donors are having bricks made as surprise gifts for various occasions.

Bricks already made honor veterans who served in eras ranging from the Black Hawk War of 1832 and the Civil War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Wheat said.

Each brick holds three lines with 16 characters each, and include the serviceman or servicewoman's military title and years of service, Madson said. Names on the bricks must be of veterans who served honorably or who are on active duty.

Forms for ordering bricks are available in various locations in Mackinaw, including the Mackinaw IGA, Casey's, the village hall and the post office. Those living out of town can contact Madson.

Tom Siebert, art teacher at Dee-Mack High School, produced the monument design, which was fine-tuned by Beal Landscaping, Mapleton, Wheat said. "We just tweaked it," he said.

Roth Enterprises, Congerville, is engraving the bricks.

Legion members will be present when bricks are laid so family requests for placement of certain bricks next to each other will be honored.

One area is devoted to Mackinaw Township residents killed in action in various wars.

"We have a special place for those 26," Wheat said.

The monument cost $20,000, and the Legion still is raising money for it. Donations include gifts of $2,500 each from the village an an anonymous donor.

The Legion also needs people to buy bricks for 20 soldiers killed in action in various wars who no longer have family around to buy a brick.

There is no deadline for ordering bricks and more will be added periodically. More will be installed next spring.

"There will always be conflicts and a place for them (the bricks)," Madson said.

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Monumental moment

What: Dedication of a veterans monument with speeches and patriotic music

When: 11 a.m. Nov. 11.

Where: Veterans Park, Fast and Main streets, Mackinaw

To order bricks

Contact James Madson at P.O. Box 381, Mackinaw, IL 61755; 309-359-3081; or jmadson@verizon.net