CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - Project leaders in Wyoming are seeking names to include in a new memorial honoring military veterans from within the Wind River Indian Reservation.
All military veterans who have lived within the boundaries of the Wyoming reservation could have their names included, the Casper Star-Tribune reported Monday.
That includes veterans from Riverton, a city of about 11,000 people that is encircled by the reservation but is not part of it.
The “Path of Honor” memorial will be located outside of the Frank B. Wise Business Center building in Fort Washakie and include a garden walkway and four massive stones listing the names of the veterans, organizers said.
The four stones will form the shape of a buffalo, organizer and Eastern Shoshone Vietnam War veteran Scott Ratliff said. Ratliff expects the names of up to 700 veterans to be listed.
Organizers hope to complete the memorial sculpture garden by the summer.
The deadline for submitting veterans’ names is Friday.
Native Americans have served in all the country’s conflicts and wars since the Revolutionary War, at a higher rate per capita than other minority groups, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“It’s to honor those people and to keep that tradition alive,” Ratliff said. “We believe that a warrior is somebody that continues to be an important part of the community, and this is to help honor all of those people.”
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