Clarence Larson American Legion Post #23 of Rugby has begun a new project to honor our Pierce County veterans. It is called the Veterans Commemorative Ceiling Tile project. The plan is to replace the existing false ceiling tiles in the American Legion meeting room, located in the basement of Memorial Hall, with new commemorative tiles, each honoring an individual veteran of Pierce County.

The veteran information will be graphically installed on a new 2 foot by 4 foot tile. The military information will include the veteran’s name, branch of service (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard), years of service, rank at the time of discharge, the war period they served, the unit the veteran was attached to, and medals received. It will also include, by insignia, if the veteran is or was a member of the American Legion or Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Each tile will be sponsored by family members or friend(s) of the veteran. The cost to sponsor a tile is $200. To order a tile, the sponsor will need to complete an application along with submitting a check for $200, and a copy of the veteran’s official discharge certificate (DD214). The DD214 needs only to be a copy. This discharge paper is different than a veteran’s Honorable Discharge Certificate as it contains much more additional information which will be used for the needed tile information. Using the DD 214 will ensure the tile information is accurate as to the veteran’s military service.

To qualify for a tile, the veteran must have been honorably discharged and must have, or had, a connection to Pierce County. This would include a connection through birth, being raised in Pierce County, was inducted into the service while a resident of Pierce County, or is, or at one time was, a resident of Pierce County. The veteran can be living or deceased. This is an on-going project. There is no dead-line on when to apply.

Sponsors can contact me for an application, and the form requesting the veteran’s DD214 from the Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, if they do not have it. These two forms can also be found on the following three Facebook sites: Rugby American Legion Post 23, Daryls-Refrigeration, and Daryl Kuhnhenn Memorial Ride. Also, feel free to contact me at 701-776-5358 should you have questions.

Clarence Larson American Legion Post #23, and our local Sons of the American Legion chapter, hope this project will be a success as it is just another permanent way to express our appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifice made by our local veterans, both past and present.