by Theresa Garee

Announced in 2023, the Village of Lockbourne is working toward building a memorial wall. The wall will be at the Veterans Park.

“The project is expected to cost $525,000. So far, we have raised close to $300,000. Our donors include both private and public entities,” Mayor Christie Ward said.

The funds thus far have come from the State of Ohio, Franklin County Commissioners, City of Columbus, and the Village of Lockbourne.

Private donors have been OhioHealth and Rediscover Lockbourne. The American Legion Southway Post 23144 has also contributed.

The design started out as a straight one-sided wall.

“With feedback from the Hamilton Twp High School Students, the Wall has evolved into 16 panels, separated into 4 distinct sections. Each panel will consist of historical facts on the front side and personal stories on the back side. One panel will remain blank for the future additions,” Ward said.

Because of space constraints more information is planned to be interactive and ever-changing on the village website.

The goal is to have the wall ready and a ceremony planned in 2026 for the 80th anniversary of the Tuskegee Airmen arriving at the Lockbourne Army Air Base.

“Our focus now is to finalize the content and photos for each panel and to launch our fundraising campaign. We still need to raise approximately $225,000 to complete the project,” Ward said.

The village would like to see the money secured by November so that it can go to bid, and secure a construction timeline starting in the spring and the unveiling in August.

Those interested in contributing can send money to Rediscover Lockbourne, PO Box 73, Lockbourne, OH 43137 or there is a GoFundMe that can be found on the website: www.lockbourneohio.us