Babbtown resident and veteran Charlie Schroeder completed a project to place a military memorial at the Meta city park.
After speaking with aldermen last fall, Schroeder set about to make this project a reality, and while there is still work to be done before Schroeder deems it complete, he’s proud of the first phase.
“I wanted to honor our veterans,” said Schroeder. “The boulder isn’t big enough to do everything I want to do but we’ll see what the artist comes up with.”
Schroeder first saw boulder artwork while visiting Iowa. It was there that he learned of Sorenson Studios, which is owned by Ray and Maria Sorenson in Greenfield, Iowa. They have conducted the Freedom Rock Tour, and have painted boulders in many places, including Maryville, St. Roberts, and Cape Girardeau.
“He does amazing work,” said Schroeder. “They’re booked solid for about 18 months, so it’s going to be a while before we can finish.”
While no timeline has been set, Schroeder contracted Sorenson Studios to finish the painting.
Schroeder obtained a boulder from Randy Hagenhoff’s body shop and painted an American flag upon it. At this time, the memorial includes flags from the five branches of the military: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard, and chat has been added to enhance the presentation.
His plan moving forward is to add paintings of Meta veterans. Schroeder said one of the things he remembers being said by a veteran is, “All gave some and some gave all.”
“I never forgot that,” said Schroeder, whose sons, Mike, Josh, Cordell, and Nolan, served in the military. “Service to our country has always been important to our family.”
Schroeder hopes the project is completed soon. “I’m 81, and I’d like to see it done before I pass away,” he said.
This is the second veterans memorial Schroeder has erected at Meta’s city park. The first memorial was honor veterans, including his son, Nolan, who passed away in 2009.