ANSLEY - A veterans memorial wall that was the dream of some members of American Legion Post 153 is now a reality in Ansley.
The wall honors patriotism and professionalism. It honors veterans who served in all branches of America's military and is located on Main Street in Ansley.
Planning for the wall began in 2004, and construction was finished May 17, 2010. A ribbon cutting is planned for this summer.
"The community people are pleased with it," said Karmela Cambern. She is the Legion member who maintains the wall and is the contact for people who want to purchase a brick or an etched photograph in honor of a veteran.
So far, not many travelers have stopped to look at the wall, Cambern said. Most of the out-of-area people who stop to admire the wall are those in town for another reason such as visiting family or attending a funeral, she said.
The wall was largely the idea of former Legion members Ralph Scott, Leonard Bristol and Dean Thompson. All three of the men have died and weren't able to see the completed project.
Scott's son Jim of Broken Bow said his dad would be proud of what the Legion has done.
"It's a neat addition to the town, and he'd be honored to see it there," Jim Scott said. Before his death, Ralph Scott told his family that he wanted a large portion of his memorial money to go toward the wall.
Laynette Doane of Ansley said the same thing of her father Leonard Bristol. Part of his memorial money was used to build the wall, and Bristol believed in building up Legion funds so the group had money for the project, she said.
"He would have really liked [the wall] and thought of it as a very nice memorial. He would have been very appreciative of the fact that it was a good use of Legion funds," Doane said.
Richard Grant was the Legion commander at the time, and when the other men died, the responsibility was largely left to him. Grant visited a similar memorial to get ideas and then drew up the plans for the Ansley wall. He supervised its construction.
It was a big undertaking and didn't get done as quickly as some people thought it should, he said.
He said he wouldn't want to do such a project again, but he really likes how the wall turned out, even though it cost more than double the initial estimate. The price came in at nearly $45,000.
"It was a lot more expensive than I thought it would be," Grant said, but it is paid for. Donations still are welcomed for expenses such as maintenance, the light bill and the water bill.
A few weeks before he died in 2006, Dean Thompson told the Hub the wall would be not only for fallen soldiers, but to honor all soldiers. Most of the names he expected to be on the wall would be from Custer and the surrounding counties and those with ties to the area.
But the wall space is available to any service person in the United States who has served or is now serving the country. Cambern said the only stipulation is that a person must have served at least one day of active duty during wartime.
"We've got names from Kansas and California of people that used to live here," Grant said. "We'll take anybody that got an honorable discharge."
He believes the wall will hold several hundred names.
Grant expressed concern that the young service people today are not interested in joining the Legion or putting their names on the wall.
"I don't know what's wrong with this younger generation. They don't want the notoriety, I guess," he said, adding that those who have served in places such as Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are welcome to add their names to the wall.
"We still got plenty of room for some names on it," Grant said. The bricks with names and dates of service are available for $75, and the etched photographs are sold for about $250, Cambern said. She is the contact at 308-212-0327 to purchase either.

View more history for Post 153 in Ansley, Nebraska