Bible Club members look to create memorial
About five members of the Uniontown High School Bible Club have embarked on a project to create a veterans’ memorial for the men and women of North and South Union townships who died while serving their country. According to the Rev. Peter Malik, the project’s coordinator, the Ninety-Niner Monument inspired the endeavor. The Ninety-Niner Monument, a bronze plaque on granite standing at the corner of E. Church Street and S. Gallatin Avenue in Uniontown, lists the names of 97 men and two women who lived within the city limits of Uniontown and died during World War II while serving in the military.
According to Malik’s press release, neither township has such a monument. Both Malik and Rev. Travis Deans, directors of Teens for Christ, approached the Bible Club about participating in the project. The Bible Club recently partnered with the Uniontown Fire Department to help establish a monument to honor two firemen who died while fighting fires.
The Bible Club is currently seeking all the names of township residents who died while in service from 1939 to the end of 1945. Malik indicated verification that the person did live in one of the townships is required. So far, over 80 names have been submitted.
The community is invited to attend a 7 p.m. meeting on Monday, June 26 at the South Union Township Fire Hall on Mount Vernon Avenue.
Discussion will include ideas for design as well as fund-raising ideas and location suggestions. Malik said the design will probably be similar to that of the Ninety-Niner Monument.
Malik is asking township residents to show their support by helping the Bible Club members complete the project as well as pay tribute to those township veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
For more information about the project or to submit a name for the memorial, the public can call the Teens for Christ office at 724-439-1101.