American Legion Post 121 is named after Robert Edeker, the first Jay resident to give his life during World War I and Jefferson Griel Dubose, who was the first Jay resident to give his life during World War II on October 17, 1942, as a sergeant with the U.S. Marine Division. Both are buried in Jay Cemetery and memorialized in brick at the Veterans Memorial Brick Plaza and Post 121 invites other Jay residents to do the same for their military loved ones who have served and passed away.
The Jay Historical Society is assisting the American Legion Edeker-Dubose Post 121 in honoring local men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces with the Veterans Memorial Brick Plaza. Residents in north Santa Rosa County are welcome to memorialize their friends or loved ones who have served in the military by placing a memorial brick in their honor.
Bobby Boutwell, Jay Historical Society president and a new member of the American Legion, said the plaza already has nearly 40 memorial bricks installed at the American Legion Post, located along Highway 4 in Jay. Boutwell said the memorial is almost a year old and the memorial brick program has been available for the past six months.
Boutwell said the Historical Society is helping Post 121 get the word out about the program through Facebook posts and email.
Although the memorial is considerably smaller compared the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza in downtown Milton, Boutwell said the Jay veteran’s memorial allows residents in the Jay area to honor loved ones who served.
“We are recognizing local veterans by preserving their names,” Boutwell said.
The bricks, which cost $25 each, can have up to 14 characters per line and only two lines per brick. Spaces and punctuation count as a character. For more information about the memorial bricks, contact Weiland Atchison at 450-2607.
CONTACT: For more information email the Jay Historical Society at jayhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Jay Historical Society, American Legion post seeks entries for Memorial Plaza