Idaho Gold Star Families Memorial Monument nearing completion

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - On Thursday, Farm Bureau Executive Vice President and CEO Todd Argall will present a $2,500 check to Rebecca Webb, chairperson of the Idaho Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Committee, to help with the expense of dedication ceremony coins that will be given to Gold Star families and donors.

The dedication of the monument is scheduled for May 28 at 1:00 p.m. Pocatello and the surrounding community will dedicate the memorial intended to recognize both the service members who have given their lives in service to the country, and the families who bear the loss of a loved one.

The monument will be located in a new Pocatello city park, the Gold Star Memorial Park, at 1775 Gold Star Drive in the city’s new Northgate Addition.

This monument, the first in Idaho, is part of a national effort to erect monuments honoring fallen soldiers and their families under the direction of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The organization was co-founded by Hershel “Woody” Williams, one of only four surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipients. Mr. Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

This monument project is being led by a local committee headed by Pocatello resident Rebecca Webb, a Gold Star Mother who lost her son in service to the country. Webb has worked tirelessly to raise local and state awareness of Idaho Gold Star families and has their support in those efforts.

The project, which began over two years ago, was briefly slowed down with the COVID pandemic, but has continued steadily, and is now nearing completion.