FAIRBORN —The first phase of a three-part veterans memorial project was revealed over the weekend with a large obelisk on the corner of Central Avenue and West Hebble Ave.

This project has been in the works since 2016 according to Dan Kirkpatrick, co-chair of the Fairborn Military Veterans Memorial Committee. The committee has been hard at work to get the monument designed and constructed, and performed the big reveal Saturday afternoon to a crowd of more than 150.

The obelisk is the “biggest part” of the final product according to Kirkpatrick, with phase two coming in 2024. Phase two includes laying bricks and adding benches around the monument, and phase three will be sections of a wall surrounding it. Kirkpatrick said phase three does not yet have a date, and it will depend on public interest and funding, but he does think it will “happen quicker” than the time it took to reveal phase one.

The purpose of the monument is to honor service members who were born or lived in the Fairborn, Osborn, Fairfield, and Bath Township area, especially those who died in service, according to the committee’s website.

The obelisk weighs more than 22,000 pounds and is now on full display at what is set to become Fairborn Memorial Park. Visible on the sides of the monument are just some of the Fairborn veterans the Fairborn Military Veterans Memorial Committee wanted to honor with the project.

Kirkpatrick said he was grateful for the turnout Saturday afternoon, and it showed just how supportive the community is of their project.

“We’re really excited,” he said. “I was hoping we’d get a dozen people here because of the weather, but there’s easily 150.”

More information on the memorial and donation information can be found at www.fairbornvetsmemorial.com.

Contact Ethan Charles at 937-502-4532.