“For the people who have helped us out with the troops, we feel it is something we can do to help them out,” Jean Johnston, one of the organizers of Troop Box Ministries, said. “The memorial is important to us.”
Troop Box Ministries was created to help support the men and women in the military by putting together packages of items to send them during their deployments.
“We started in 2001,” Diana Lawrence, one of the organizers, said. “It just kind of grew over time from a handful of troops to close to 100.”
Lawrence said now, the organization holds fundraisers and they are supported by several churches, organizations and individuals throughout the area, including Milford Exempted Village Schools.
Students in the district help fill the boxes with a variety of items and Lawrence said they have been a tremendous help. She said they even include personal letters and cards for the troops.
“Bill has worked with us for years with Milford school district,” Lawrence said about Bill Knepp, one of the organizers of the war memorial. “We wanted to give back.”
She said making a donation to the Korean War Memorial was a way to do this, and many of the organizations founders have a close connection to the military and the Korean War.
Knepp would not announce how much Troop Box Ministries donated to the Korean War Memorial because he said every donation, no matter the size, is worthy of recognition.
Clermont Korean War Memorial organizers including Knepp, Robert Sterling and R.J. Vilardo have been working to raise money for the memorial for several years.
The memorial will include both a monument and a living history trail at Miami Meadows Park in Miami Township that will help educate visitors about the Korean War.
Knepp said they have received enough funding to finish the trail and will continue to fund-raise through May to raise enough for the monument.
“The last step is the dedication July 27,” Knepp said.
The Korean War Memorial is part of the Spirit of ‘76 Memorial Garden and Arboretum in the park that will honor men and women who served in all military conflicts. Miami Township Trustees set aside eight acres in the park for the memorial garden.