The Iraq and Afghanistan War Memorial Foundation (IAWMF) needs your financial support to build a monument in Port St. Lucie that will honor Floridians killed during the Global War on Terrorism.
In September 2022, city leaders approved plans to construct the six-foot monument to accompany the existing WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Purple Heart, and Gold Star Family Memorials at Veterans Park.
The India Black Granite Monument, similar to the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C., will be the first Memorial in the state dedicated to the 355 Florida service members killed during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
The all-volunteer non-profit organization IAWMF hopes to complete the Memorial by the end of the year but needs to raise $50,000 to do so. National Commanders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, AMVETS and Disabled American Veterans, and a host of retired generals are all rallying behind IAWMF in support of the cause.
IAWMF Founder Steve Udovich, a retired Army Infantry Officer and Iraq War Veteran, decided to construct the Memorial in Port St. Lucie after surveying over 50 locations because of the city’s overwhelming support of veterans. “There’s no better place in Florida to honor the ultimate sacrifice of our heroes than Port St. Lucie,” Udovich told The St. Lucie Post. “The city has a deep respect for veterans and reverence for the fallen and their survivors.”
And when the monument is complete and the Memorial is dedicated, the name of Port St. Lucie’s own Ian Zook, a United States Marine Corporal killed in Iraq, will live forever in his hometown.
For more information about IAWMF or to donate to the Memorial, please visit: WWW.IAWMF.ORG
