Many things have changed since the first proposal. The large berms for the ice rink have rendered that section unusable for large events making the other open spaces more valuable, the monuments were to be consolidated from other parts of the city but are now going to be completely new, the monuments were to be at the very edges of the space leaving a much larger open space in the middle but are now clustered together breaking the space up more, and it was said that groups could use the open area for events without people feeling it would be sacrilegious even though those concerns are now being aired. I support our Troops and Veterans, but perhaps Janesville's "Activity" Park is not the quiet, solemn location the Memorials deserve.

I'm passing along the below note from Bob Engstrom.
Greg Peck
I believe there is room at Traxler Park for everyone. If there is support for the project from the three major users of the park, there should be a positive response from the city. It seems that it would be a win/win for the city. An enhancement of memorials at no cost to the city. This would be an attraction to the city for not only its residents but to visitors. I know our city supports veterans; what a perfect way to show it.
Thanks.
Bob

I agree that the park up north is wonderful, but let us remember that our vets are now getting older and some rely on others to get them around. It would be nice to provide them a place locally to remember and reflect.

WOW I can not believe how disrespectful some are. The heros put their lives on the line for all of us, and when it comes down to allowing them to have a serene place to have some solice we say NO!?!?!? They are not asking for money they are asking for space. I have never been by Traxler park and see it so packed that it would impede in any activities there. The flooding lately was unexpected and a problem for the society, BUT I assure you that the vets went down to make sure that everything was still in place and that the area of the park that has the brinks and the monument were still in a presentable fashion. This society does such good for our area that is not always accredited to them, but they all put in hard work throughout the year to make sure that their work is never done. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE AND TO ALL THAT CONTINUE TO SERVE!!! YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!

I agree with your editorial Mr. Peck. Well said. There is no need for the entire end of Traxler to be taken up with monuments for veterans. Cassville Wisconsin has a wonderful veteran's memorial in a park on the Mississippi honoring their vet's way back, covering all the wars their men and women served in. And the entire space it takes up is about 1/2 of what Traxler already has for our vets. No need to have such sprawling area. It can be done using less space.
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Seems JPS had/has a hard time selling the bricks for the existing section, or has this changed? I did count 3 bricks for Stehura, yet found none for many of our guys were killed in action in previous wars. I only had the money to buy bricks for my close family who served. It'd be nice to get bricks for our men who were KIA but didn't earn the MOH.

It was not only a problem of finding a site to name for PFC Bellrichard, it was more importantly a matter of the Janesville Patriotic Society NOT wanting to name a unique site for him.

The Medal of Honor Walkway was only placed as an attempt to NOT name a unique site for Bellrichard. The Walkway was also a tactic to get the JPS's hooks into Traxler Park to rename the park -such attempt being appropriately scoffed at by the council and the administration- and currently to damage the park's recreational use by the placement of more monuments.

Ask yourself why it took over a third of century for signs to be placed on Veterans Bridge and a unique site named for PFC Belllrichard?

I have seen the residents of Janesville support our Veterans time and time again in so many ways. The Janesville Patriotic Society has built the Veterans Walk Way with our own cities Medal of Honor recipients so proudly represented. They host the Memorial Day parade and put American Flags on the entry roads to the city.
With the support from the three biggest users of the park and they didnt seem to think it took up to much space, I would think it will enhnce the park and will provide a quiet place for out Veterans to visit and our children to learn who made this country free.
Our men and women who have defended this country deserve a place to call home.
God Bless America and all who live freely in it.

My own brother is a naval veteran of the Gulf War, so I certainly think that veterans deserve respect. But I don't understand why the Janesville veterans, in particular, seem to get themselves into these situations where they end up not getting exactly what they want and becoming upset about it.
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The first -- I think -- was the park renaming. They didn't even realize in the beginning that the city does not own Courthouse Park, but they decided *in advance* that only renaming that park after Pfc. Bellrichard would be an appropriate memorial, and so finding out it could not be done was described as a "slap in the face" or similar wording. Eventually they sat down with the city and had a discussion, like adults, about how to honor our Medal of Honor soldier, and the city was happy to rename a bridge. But in the meantime it caused some hurt feelings.
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Then the society wants to gather all the memorials in one place. This was again an ill-though-through proposal that would only cause hurt feelings because they failed to bring in other stakeholders and discuss it quietly with other veterans organizations to be sure there was consensus. If they had, they probably would not have proceeded as they did. In the end this proposal died, whatever its merits, since the JPS does not speak for all veterans or their families.
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Now we have yet another proposal, much detailed, that directly conflicts with a high-use recreational facility, and has other flaws -- most of them endemic to the original decision to locate the eternal flame there decades ago. It just does not seem to me like this is a particularly good place for a memorial of this type, especially if there is any desire for year-round access. In addition there are the overlaps in usage with other activities, in one of the highest-usage parks in our city system. This is why the staff and plan commission have recommended against the proposal -- on its merits. But again, we already have indications of hurt feelings, even before it gets to the final body.
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I'm very saddened that the people speaking for our courageous and public-spirited veterans are so thin-skinned and short-sighted. This is not the way to go about creating a site that the entire city will be happy with. Really, this is a recipe for a contentious debate and a potential denial that will, as it has at least twice in the past, cause hurt feelings.
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I really recommend that the leadership of the Patriotic Society rethink how they go about these proposals, and perhaps get some advice from organizations that have been successful in the past. And try not to make every decision related to this dependent on the idea that voting one way or another will honor or dishonor the veterans. They deserve better.

irish, they passed four resolutions to change the name of the bridge. And the answer to your question is NO, but when it became tactical they helped expedite the placement of the signs and then assumed credit for it.

How many council members and commissioners are
veterans? Veterans don't ask for much, but
they do ask for respect. Especially for those that didn't come back. Give them what they want.

These " high profile veterans groups " are the ones responsible for getting the signs placed.
They did NOT pass a resolution to remove veterans from the sign.

This busy-work exclusive to the high-profile veterans in Janesville is an unwelcome variation on the bored housewife syndrome. Unfortunately, that syndrome is not confined only to bored housewives. This attempt to "rearrange the furniture" is a waste, period. The Medal of Honor Walkway in Traxler Park was disrespectfully placed in the floodplain by the relevant high-profile veterans now in the news. The Walkway is regularly plagued with floods.

As for the word "Veterans", we already have Veterans Field, Veterans Plaza, and Veterans Bridge. Several years ago, the Marine Corps League, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Janesville Patriotic Society -the very people who now want to change Traxler Park- all passed resolutions to remove the name "Veterans" from Veterans Bridge.

Only 3 groups have used that portion of the park in the last year. The Aqua Jays, the Renaissance Fair, and the veterans. All have supported the proposal. The biggest loss of green space and parking happened with the ice rink that was put in.

If the city is not behind this project, then I would like to see the city rename an entire park "veterans memorial park"( it does not have to be traxler) like many other cities in America do. This would allow the Patriotic Society to construct a memorial that is exclusive to a veterans park. Janesville is the city of parks after all and I am sure the folks in charge can find space or an existing park to accommodate this memorial. In addition, it sounds like the Patriotic society is footing the bill, so it is a win for all parties.

I think it's a great plan. The city doesn't do enough to show support for the veterans.