This year marks the 31st anniversary of the Hart Veterans Park located on Hart Lake just north of the State Street bridge in downtown Hart. The dream of Hart native Army Air Corps veteran Lloyd Jones (1931-2021), the former post commander of the Hart VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 1329, was undertaken in 1989 and formally dedicated Nov. 11, 1995.
The T-33 jet at the center of the park is probably what draws the attention of most passing by, however, it is the Black Granite Veterans Memorial monument, officially dedicated the following year on July 4, 1996, that is the real centerpiece and a significant achievement for this community. Sitting on the south side of the park, the monument holds the names of 187 Oceana County veterans who died while serving in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War or the Iraqi War.
The monument, installed at the same time as the park, was inscribed with, “Dedicated To Those Who Served, From Those Who Loved Them Most” on its park-facing side. On the backside of the monument, an inscription created from ideas submitted at the time of its creation reads, “From generation to generation, from the orchards, fields and homes of Oceana County, our citizens have given their lives in military service to our country. May the sacrifice of Oceana's fallen inscribed on these monuments be always remembered. They brought honor to our country and gave us the promise of tomorrow.” For over 15 years, the back side of the monument sat blank, with nothing else inscribed on it, until a group of dedicated veterans set out to change that.
In 2009 an Oceana County veteran, who was living out of state, contacted fellow veteran John Urick, Hart native and resident of Walkerville, to ask if he could get a list of the war dead from Oceana County. Knowing at that time there was no official county roll of honor, Urick said he would reach out to the Hart VFW, of which he was a member, to see if there was any interest in creating one.
Urick found many within the Hart VFW who were interested in a roll of honor of some sort. It was decided that all posts should be invited to be a part of creating any kind of memorial. Letters were sent to the six other county veteran posts: Ferry Veterans Post, Hart American Legion, Hesperia American Legion, Oceana County Marine Corps League, Pentwater VFW and the Shelby American Legion.
“We set up a meeting, and representatives from each of the seven posts came. We were an informal group and just called ourselves the “Oceana County Veterans Monument Committee.” People were enthused about the idea of a monument,” Urick recalled. “Different people researched different aspects of it, and John Varenhorst began cataloging the names of all Oceana County’s war dead to be placed on the monument.”
When discussing how to finance the project, the idea of collecting donations for bricks to make up a veterans brick walkway, with the names of any Oceana County veteran, living or deceased, engraved on them, was proposed. “I thought that seemed more interesting and meaningful than holding spaghetti suppers to fund the project,” Urick said. “We contacted the city for permission; Stan Rickard was city manager at the time. They gave us free rein to proceed with the project, the only stipulation being that the new monument have space to add more names, God forbid, that ever became necessary.”
By 2011 the veterans had collected enough donations ($50 a brick) to have the monument engraved with the 187 names of those who died in the line of duty and to begin construction of the walkway. The original walkway featured 658 sandblast-engraved bricks with the names of Oceana County veterans, living and deceased, on them.
From beginning to end, the idea and design of a monument, the design of the original walkway, some of the sandblasting of bricks and its construction involved local veterans every step of the way. Not only did veterans attend meetings and make decisions together, but they did a lot of the labor themselves. Unfortunately, after only two years following their installation, the original bricks’ painted lettering had begun to fade, and the committee was faced with how to rectify the situation.
Fast forward to 2018, when the City of Hart, after receiving a $300,000 matching grant from the DNR, was getting ready to embark on a $900,000-plus complete renovation of the veterans park. With a project of this magnitude, conversations and meetings began between the veterans monument committee and the city as to how to handle the memorial bricks and monument as part of this major renovation project.
In 2021, it became necessary for the “Oceana County Veterans Monument Committee” to formalize. They submitted an application to become a nonprofit, which they were finally granted in 2024. They renamed the group the Oceana County Veterans Memorial (OCVM) committee and elected the following directors to their board: Larena Kramer, Greg Gabriel, Mike Wilson, John Urick and Jim Carlson.
From 2021 to 2024, the committee continued to meet, however, between dealing with the Covid pandemic, walkway design changes suggested by the city, brick engraving and brick size changes by the engraver, brick paint continuing to fade and fielding complaints from family members about when their service member’s brick would be replaced, the group became discouraged.
“We got to a point where we asked ourselves, ‘What do we do?” Urick shared. “Finally, in November 2025, when the city couldn’t come up with the matching funds needed to go forward with their plans to renovate the veterans park, they dropped the project, and we decided to just do the brick replacement ourselves.”
After several discussions about how to proceed, in April 2026 the OCVM group voted to source bricks from a contractor located in Florida who offered laser engraving at a competitive price, provided an unlimited warranty and free shipping. They hired a contractor to do the hardscaping and construct a sidewalk through the middle of the new memorial brick walkway. Along with an annual seal coat to protect the bricks, the sidewalk will make the bricks more easily readable by visitors without having to be walked on. The new layout also provides room for placing more bricks in the future.
The renovated walkway was officially dedicated in late August 2026. The $12,000-plus renovation project cost was funded by the Oceana County Veterans Memorial committee and a $6,000 donation from the Hart Economic and Redevelopment Team.
The bricks of the newly redesigned and renovated walkway are different from the original sandblast-engraved bricks created by local artisans. The walkway is now made up of new laser-engraved bricks, a recent technology that has the capability of being more precise and can be done with more speed and at a greater cost-savings.
Times may change, but one thing remains: the memorial walkway and monument have been, and always will be, a respectful place to pause and reflect and to honor and remember Oceana County's many veterans who faithfully served and willingly sacrificed to protect this nation’s many freedoms. The annual Veterans Day Observance on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. will be the perfect time to experience seeing it firsthand.
The walkway currently includes over 630 bricks, one for every person previously listed, with the exception of 19 bricks. “Nineteen of the original bricks had some unreadable information,” VFW #1329 Post Commander Mike Wilson said. “We have the names, but we don’t know who to contact for the other information we’d like to add. With the renovation, all engraving was standardized, listing the veteran's full name, military branch and years served. We want to make sure we have everyone’s information correct. If anyone can provide further information on these 19 veterans, knows of a brick that is missing, or sees a brick that needs correcting, please contact me at mtw9494@gmail.com or on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the Hart VFW hall. After the current walkway with all 658 bricks is 100 percent correct, then we will be open for new brick commitments.”
The OCVM nonprofit group is grateful to the many contributors who made both the memorial monument, as well as, the original and the new brick walkways possible. These include the City of Hart for use of the property, general upkeep and maintenance; all of the veterans, families, community members, organizations and businesses who gave so generously of their time, talents and treasure to make them both possible; and the individuals who served on the first informal Oceana County Veterans Monument Committee and now serve on the nonprofit Oceana County Veterans Memorial committee.
The Hart VFW holds monthly meetings on the second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. Their next meeting will be held Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. All eligible veterans are welcome to attend. A meeting of the Oceana County Veterans Memorial committee will be held soon. More information is available at the Hart VFW Facebook page.
