POYEN — After several years of hard work and perseverance by many in this small Grant County community, the Poyen Veterans Memorial Committee Inc. is ready to dedicate the memorial.
Located at the Lindsey-Poyen Cemetery on U.S. 270 just east of Poyen, the memorial pays tribute to Poyen veterans who have served their country since the American Revolution. The dedication ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Saturday. The public is invited; those planning to attend are asked to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. All are asked to arrive early, as a large crowd is expected.
Following the dedication of the memorial, committee members will lead the community in participating in a wreath-laying ceremony, which is being held in conjunction with the national Wreaths Across America program. That ceremony will begin at 11, starting with a moment of silence.
“We will lay approximately 150 wreaths,” said Clyde E. “Eddy” Watson of Poyen, who is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and chairman of the committee, which is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. “We actually sold 232 wreaths and will donate the extras to the state Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.”
Watson said the committee raised about $1,000 from the sale of the wreaths.
Additional wreaths will be placed for each branch of military service — Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant Marines and Navy — plus one for POW/MIA (Prisoners of War/Missing in Action).
“We started with $100 when we organized as a nonprofit organization,” Watson said, recalling how the committee came together and started to plan the memorial.
“I gave that first $100,” said Paul Walker of Poyen, laughing. “I did that so we could open a bank account.”
Paul Walker is president of the corporation. Other officers include Jewell D. Walker, treasurer, and Robert “Bob” Speer Jr., secretary.
Jewell Walker, who is a brother to Paul Walker, said the committee earns money by mowing the cemetery.
“We haven’t made much lately because of the weather,” he said with a laugh. “We have also held fundraisers; we’ve had four 5-K races and two car shows. And we’ve just made $1,000 from the Wreaths Across America program.”
Paul Walker said the committee, to date, has spent $64,426 on the memorial.
“That’s not counting all the free labor,” he said, “and we’re not through with it yet.”
Jewell Walker said the committee plans to build a wrought-iron fence around the pavilion, which houses the three-sided memorial, which is made of concrete blocks and features black granite tiles engraved with the names of the Poyen veterans buried in the cemetery. The Lindsey-Poyen cemetery is really two separate cemeteries that are divided by the highway. The older part of the cemetery was founded as the Lindsey Cemetery in 1859; the newer part, the Poyen Cemetery, was founded in 1941.
The pavilion is covered with a metal roof and is approachable by a circle drive. Lighted flagpoles hold the American flag, the Arkansas flag, a POW/MIA flag and a Christian flag. Committee members have placed sod around the pavilion, but more landscaping is planned, as is paving the drive.
Three small concrete statues are placed on columns of brick near the front of the pavilion. One statue is a sentry on guard, a second is a soldier tending to a wounded soldier, and a third is a soldier kneeling at a cross.
Watson said the pavilion could be used for funerals or graveside services, as well as family activities such as reunions.
Jewell Walker said there are 146 names on the wall, including those of four women.
Watson said the names include one veteran from the Revolutionary War, four from the Civil War, 10 from World War I, 61 from World War II, 21 from the Korean War and 15 from the Vietnam War.
“There are 43 with no war service,” Watson said.
Watson said Saturday’s dedication service will include four guest speakers — James Watson of Pine Bluff, who served in the Army for three years; former Army Lt. Col. Gerald Loyd of Amity; former Air Force Capt. Dale Morris, M.D., of Little Rock; and retired Army Col. Pat Daniels of Malvern, who is the senior adviser for the Malvern High School Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program. All four men have spoken at Memorial Day services held at the cemetery.
Members of the Malvern High School JROTC will provide a color guard for the dedication, and airmen from the Little Rock Air Force Base will provide a 21-gun salute and, possibly, a C-130 flyover.
Emilee Webb of Poyen, Miss Arkansas Valley Outstanding Teen 2016, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Rachel Sanders, also of Poyen and a student at the University of Central Arkansas, will sing the national anthem, and Candi Williams of Poyen will sing “America the Beautiful.”
Watson said the event will be held rain or shine.
“These men and women served in all kinds of conditions. … This is the least we can do for them,” Watson said.
General parking will be available on the south end of the cemetery, with a shuttle service provided to the pavilion. Handicap parking will be at the north end of the cemetery, along with parking for those who are participating in the event.
For more information on Saturday’s event, contact Watson at (501) 467-0761 or wormywatson@yahoo.com.