Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, Ward 4 Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske and Nevada Department of Veterans Services Director Mary Devine will be joined by local veterans for the opening of the new home of the Nevada State Veterans Memorial at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11. The memorial is located at the northwest end of the Thunderbird Family Sports Complex, 6105 N. Durango Drive. The event is free and open to the public.
The event will include the presentation of the colors by the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard and is scheduled to begin just before 5 p.m. with a flyover courtesy of Nellis Air Force Base.
The memorial is a partnership of the State of Nevada, the city of Las Vegas and the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE, an independent 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that supports city initiatives.
The memorial features 18 larger-than-life bronze statues by sculptor Douwe Blumberg that were relocated from outside the former Grant Sawyer state building to their new permanent location in the northwest region of the city of Las Vegas. The statues, which each stand an impressive 7.5 feet tall, were originally commissioned by the state in 2011 to honor American military service from the Revolutionary War through present day.
The event will be broadcast live on city of Las Vegas TV, and on the city of Las Vegas TV YouTube channel.
Along with the memorial, the project includes a beautiful open-air promenade, complete with landscaping, an amphitheater and informational signage. This project establishes a permanent home for these magnificent sculptures that honors Nevada’s 200,000-plus veterans in a dedicated place of healing, inspiration and education.
The contractor was Rafael Construction.