With the proposed construction of the Rostraver Township Veterans Memorial has come a need for the public to step up and donate the names that will be inscribed on the monument. Dr. Regis Serinko, chairman of the Rostraver Township Veterans Memorial Association, said he has found about 2,000 names for the memorial at various honor rolls in the five communities located within Rostraver Township. Pricedale, Webster, Collinsburg, Fellsburg and Van Meter are all part of the township. Only about 450 names have been turned in from the public, Serinko said. That leaves a little over 1,000 spaces left on the proposed monument. The township commissioners donated a plot of land on Port Royal Road for the cause. The site is located adjacent to the township municipal complex. The lighted monument will comprise granite slabs and benches, landscaping, an artillery piece, a masonry lectern and dais, service plaques, a public address system and parking. Serinko said a group of war veterans and concerned residents banded together in December 2000 with a goal to centralize one major monument in the township. “We’re a community of five villages; each of these little villages do their own thing,” he said of the various honor rolls. “We’re trying to centralize this really and put all of the names in one place. We’re going all the way back to the Revolutionary War.” Serinko, a World War II veteran and former township sewage authority chairman, said the smaller memorials are outdated. “In most cases, those things have decayed or been thrown away,” he said. “The names are lost.” The proposed memorial highlights the values veterans have fought to preserve at times of war, Serinko said. The centerpiece features the universal symbol of peace, a white dove, inscribed on a granite slab with the constitutional freedoms of petition, speech, press, religion and assembly written beneath in a rainbow of colors. Veterans’ names will be inscribed on large granite slabs featured in a half circle in the center of the memorial. The American flag and other service flags will fly in the background. Serinko said the memorial association might decide to move the township’s smaller honor rolls to the new park so all residents can view all names at one park. The memorial park association has requested a $25 contribution toward the construction of the monument for each name that is listed on the honor roll. However, Serinko said names will be accepted even if the $25 donation cannot be made. Granite pavers that will be used for the monument’s foundation are also available for dedication from $150 for spaces 3-inches by 9-inches to $500 for spaces 12-inches by 27-inches. Serinko said residents should buy pavers because there is room on them to document veterans’ military branches and times of service. Only the honorees’ names will be featured on the honor roll. Former township residents are also encouraged to submit names, Serinko said. Jerry Smith, one of the memorial organizers, said individual residents have agreed to contribute $2,000 to have their names inscribed on the bases of the granite honor roll tablets. Local businesses have also supported the cause. Charleroi Federal Savings Bank contributed $5,000. “It’s a number that seemed justified under these circumstances,” CEO Melvin Bassi said of the donation. “Our bank is supportive of memorials that have been created in any of the communities that we serve … to establish a permanent record of the brave acts for those who served our country. Rostraver is one of those (monuments) that is long overdue.” Township Commissioner Nick Lorenzo is chairman of the campaign’s finance committee. Lorenzo said state Rep. Ted Harhai helped obtain a $25,000 grant for the project. “I’m sure when the proper time comes, the commissioners will donate some money,” Lorenzo said. “This would be a great asset to Rostraver Township. It’s going to represent all of Rostraver. When we’re done, it’s going to be beautiful.”

More Information

To submit veterans’ names for the Rostraver Township Veterans Honor Roll, send them to project coordinator Stanley Nedzesky, 4856 State Route 51 South, Belle Vernon, PA, 15012. Monetary donation can be made to the Rostraver Township Veterans Memorial Fund, Charleroi Federal Savings Bank, Routes 201 and 51, Belle Vernon, PA, 15012. Include the name, address and phone number of the submitter along with the veteran’s information. Registration tables will be set up Sunday at Cedarbrook Park during August Fun Fest, Aug. 17, at Cedar Creek Park during the Rostraver High School reunion and Aug. 31 at Wal-Mart. More information is available online at www.geocities.com/rostraverveterans .

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