September 13, 2007 at 7:22 a.m.
A veterans tribute
A veterans tribute
The bronze piece was made possible by Benson's family. His mother said the family is honored to use memorials given in memory of her son to have this simple, yet moving tribute made by American Bronze in Osceola, Wisc.
One of the area veterans who serves on the Veterans' Memorial Committee, John Broecker, had the idea for this. He explained that it was his experience in WWII, when a soldier died, the bayonet end of his gun was stuck in the ground, the dog tags were draped around the gun and the helmet was propped on top.
This is called the battlefield cross, or Soldier's Cross and indicates, with the bayonet end plunged into the earth, that the soldier's battle is over. The battle cross has historic roots back to medieval days and earlier.
Broecker contacted Corp. Benson's family to see if they'd mind if the Lindstrom All Veterans County Memorial included this type of tribute to Johnathan and his mother said it would be something they'd be proud to be a part of. Corp. Benson's actual dogtags will hang on the piece for special occasions.
The Veterans Memorial plaza also contains ground pavers engraved with veterans' names and service information which any person can have set for a donation of $100. (The memorial is self-sufficient and the charitable donations help pay for maintenance, etc.) There are markers honoring those from Chisago County who have been killed or are missing in action, a granite marker commemorating the women who served, an eagle sculpture, Statue of Liberty and benches.
The items used to make the cast for "The Price of Freedom" were loaned by Ken Harmon, Chisago City, who is also involved in the memorial committee. American Bronze made the piece using the lost wax process. There will be desk-sized models for sale through the company catalogue.
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