By Jim Newell

Review Editor

The Orion Veterans Memorial is a hallowed place in the community, a place where its veterans, family, friends and supporters gather to commemorate the military service of Orion’s own.

Over the past two decades, the veterans have worked to many the memorial an attractive monument in which they and the community take pride.

On Feb. 15, a panel on the west wall fell off the wall, on to the snow-covered ground.

Bob Watros, the caretaker of the Veterans Memorial, said he and his wife, Toni, were driving by the memorial around 5 p.m. on Saturday when they noticed a panel missing from one of the walls.

“It just fell. There was no warning, no indicator. It just fell,” Watros said. “It was a shocker.”

The panel fell sometime between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day, and was the only panel that could have fallen and not hit anything else.

Watros said they were “very fortunate” that the panel didn’t hit anyone – and didn’t break.

“Boy, we just wouldn’t want to hurt anybody. That’s our main concern,” he said.

Likely, water got behind the panel and the repeated freezing and thawing in the colder-then-warmer weather this winter contributed to the panel dislodging and falling, Watros said.

The panel, which is on the “Military Branches of Service” wall, is black granite and weighs 600-800 pounds. Panels on that wall and other walls at the memorial are also pulling away and will require repairs.

“Now we’ve investigated and it looks like some of the other ones might be moving,” Watros said. “That could cost us a lot of money.”

The panels will have to be removed and reattached. There will also be new concrete caps at the top of the panels. The caps will have an “L” shape to them that will overlap the granite panels – so that even if a panel comes loose in the future it will not fall, Watros said.

“Safety is our main concern. Whatever it costs, we’ll have to fix it.”

Anyone who would like to contribute to the repair work can mail donations to the Orion Veterans Memorial, 189 W. Clarkston Rd., Suite #4, Lake Orion, MI 48632.

The Orion Veterans Memorial is the site of several military ceremonies throughout the year, including the Memorial Day ceremonies, the largest event of the year at the memorial, and the 9/11 ceremony, honoring the nation’s, and Orion’s, first responders.

For more information on the Orion Veterans Memorial, visit orionveteransmemorial.com.