Veterans Day ceremony to unveil new memorial
The new Nathan Martens Arizona Memorial will be unveiled with a parade and ceremony on Veterans Day next Saturday.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/1104gr-memorial1104Z12.html
Carl Holcombe
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 4, 2006 12:00 AM
The memorial was established as a grass-roots effort led by the San Tan PRIDE Association to honor all of Arizona military men and women killed while serving in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The wars have so far claimed more than 80 Arizonans.
It is named in honor of a Queen Creek man, Robert "Nathan" Martens, 20, a Navy corpsman, who was killed in Iraq in September 2005 when the Humvee he was riding in had a rollover crash near Al-Qaim. He is survived by his wife Erin, daughter Riley Jo, his parents Maria and Rob, and siblings Matthew and Bobbie Ann.
"It can't bring any of them back, and that's what any of the family members would really want," Rob Martens said. "It's pretty special the way it came about, with a grass-roots effort and private contributions."
The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a dedication ceremony at noon.
Martens said the memorial is in a perfect location in San Tan Mountains Regional Park where his son loved to ride horses, hike and run. The memorial will be located three miles from the Martens' home at the base of a mountain the family climbed every New Year's Day morning.
"When the sun is setting, it's a real pretty spot," Martens said.
Alden Rosbrook, PRIDE director, said it was amazing how people came together to support the memorial project. About $50,000 in donations was received, as were a host of in-kind contributions from businesses like SRP, Sun State Builders, John Ellis Co., and individuals like Mike Basic who provided free drilling services.
"It's almost like there are angels," Rosbrook said.
The memorial will feature a 70-foot flagpole, and metal plaques with Nathan Martens' likeness and engraved names of the other fallen Arizona military personnel.
The parade will begin with an All Services Color Guard that has been organized by the USMC Recruiting Station in Phoenix. Parade participants will include 30 members of the Army band from Fort Huachuca, units of Apache Junction ROTC Navy, mounted and marching 4-H members, mounted and walking Pinal County Sheriff's Office Posse members, and police from Coolidge, Florence and Buckeye.
The dedication will feature an F-16 missing man flyover and former Queen Creek Mayor Wendy Feldman-Kerr will emcee. Other speakers are expected to include Father Joe O'Donnell, U.S. Navy retired; Medics and Corpsman National Commander Kerry Pardue, Pinal County Supervisor Sandie Smith, Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock, Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders and USAF Major Bryan Martyn.
Parking for the parade will be restricted to the east and west sides of Thompson Road north of Phillips Road. A shuttle will be available starting at 9 a.m. People can stand on the north side of Phillips Road west of Thompson Road to watch the parade. The south side of the road will be for horse trailers and horses in the parade.
Traffic will be restricted in the area during the parade and owners will be asked to remove their horses from the area before the flyover.