It wasn’t long after Shelby Township Veterans Events Coordinator Phil Randazzo received a $25,000 donation for the Township’s Veterans Memorial from Sunoco Logistics at the July 16 Board of Trustees meeting before he announced how that money would be put to use.
“We’re going to use these funds to enhance our memorial the only way I know how, and that’s honoring our fallen soldiers and helping our veterans and military families remember their brothers and sisters and sons and daughters,” said Randazzo, a combat veteran who earned two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars in Vietnam.
Randazzo said the first initiative at the memorial would be replacement of the brick pavers that were purchased by residents to honor veterans and fallen loved ones near the foot of the black granite memorial.
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The new pavers will be lighter, to stand out from the red pavers embellished with names of private donors and businesses. Existing pavers will be replaced at no cost to the original donors, and the old pavers will be made available to donors.
“We are blessed with a very proud military community in Shelby Township, and many members of that community have supported our memorial by purchasing pavers,” Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said.
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“Unfortunately, over time, many of those pavers have weathered and left engravings unreadable. This enhancement will replace those weathered tributes and add another level of distinction to pavers purchased by veterans and military families.”
To demonstrate what the new pavers would look like, Randazzo presented the first of the new pavers to honor retired U.S. Army Sergeant and Shelby Township resident Carlo Vendetti, who served in the Pacific theater in World War II.
“We were lucky that Mr. Vendetti did not have a paver out there,” Randazzo said. “I say we were lucky because I can think of few members of our community more deserving of the honor to have this first paver than Carlo.”
The cost to add engraved pavers honoring veterans and active military remains the same: 4-inch by 8-inch bricks cost $100 and single 8-inch square pavers cost $200. Pavers are available through the Township Supervisor’s Office at 52700 Van Dyke Ave.
Paver program proceeds help fund Memorial Day and Veterans Day programs and memorial maintenance.
“The nice thing about the paver is that it gives families and veterans a chance to physically take ownership of the memorial,” Randazzo said. “These pavers help them express the stake they have in this as a part of our military community.”
