Former Rolla Police Chief and current Ward 2 City Councilman Stan Spadoni, like many veterans, is smiling this Veterans Day, having realized the groundbreaking of the new Veterans Cemetery – Fort Leonard Wood.
Spadoni, 75, is a veteran of both the Korean War and the Vietnam War before returning to returning to Rolla and serving as the city’s top law-enforcement officer from 1979 to ’88. Spadoni was among the 200 guests – many of whom were veterans – who attended the groundbreaking Friday on the eve of the Veterans Day weekend.
“I’m just thrilled that this has finally happened,” Spadoni said on Tuesday, Veterans Day.
“I’m very interested in this. Not only for myself but for all veterans. The veterans cemeteries are filling up  in Missouri, and I’m so glad this has finally happened. I think we owe (U.S. Rep.) Ike Skelton for moving this along,” said Spadoni, who is currently serving his second term on the Rolla City Council.
Spadoni and many like him are veterans of the Cold War and a large percentage of the contingent who attended the cemetery groundbreaking Friday. They have been waiting for this cemetery to come to fruition.
“It’s been years coming. I don’t know what the holdup is, but I’m glad it’s finally going to happen,” Spadoni said. “It’s long overdue.”
On a blustery Friday afternoon on the remote forested confines of Fort Leonard Wood, Spadoni and other veterans and dignitaries gathered to dedicate Missouri’s fifth military cemetery – the Missouri Veterans Cemetery – Fort Leonard Wood.
The temperature was 48 degrees, and the gray clouds that obscured warming sunshine and the constant penetrating winds made the climes seem much colder to the many who huddled in a red-and-white striped tent that provided the only haven from the gusts.
Still, the wind could barely chill the enthusiasm of those who gathered, particularly Brig. Gen. Gregg F. Martin, commanding general of the Maneuver Support Center.
“What an awesome place to have a cemetery,” the upbeat Martin said. “Those who had a vision to see what this place could be, we thank you. You have made this happen.
“What a wonderful place to link the generations,” Martin said. “Please have a safe and blessed Veterans Day weekend.”
Martin thanked soldiers for their dedication and the politicians who chased the cemetery – particularly Pulaski County Presiding Commissioner Bill Ransdall – during the years through changes in commanders at the fort.
The 229-acre cemetery, of which the first 25 acres will be dedicated in December, 2009, is made possible by $7.5 million grant by the federal government. A check presentation ceremony preceded the groundbreaking.
The groundbreaking was well attended by area mayors and politicians or their representatives.
Ransdall read a statement from Skelton (D-Dist. 4), who regretted not being able to attend.
“While I regret I cannot be there, personally, to join the ceremony, I am thrilled to see the results of years of work final coming to fruition,” Ransdall said, quoting Skelton.
“This project represents the best efforts of past and current state officials dating back more than a decade. The combined state and federal program will allow this site to be memorialized in perpetuity as a place of honor for those who have served our nation faithfully and well.
“I congratulate the Missouri Veterans Commission, and I look forward to being present when the finished site is formally dedicated,” Skelton wrote.
State Sen. Frank Barnitz (D-Lake Spring) also could not attend, but had a representative handing out a full-color flier.
“Here we are today on a momentous occasion we have all been looking forward to for a long time,” Barnitz writes. “Congressman Ike Skelton (State) Rep. David Day, former representative Bill Ransdall and I have all worked vigorously to see that this finally comes to light. And, it’s a wonderful day to be able to say that we will have a veterans cemetery right here in Pulaski County at Fort Leonard Wood,” Barnitz writes.
Rep. Day humbly acknowledged his support for the project but admitted much was accomplished when he took office.
“I, personally, thank everyone involved in this,” said Day, a Republican. “I just happen to be in office when the funds came through.”
The initial phase of the cemetery will include 25 acres that officials estimate will last between 25 and 30 years, and the 523,000 Missouri veterans will be eligible for the cemetery.
The site will include an administration center, a secondary building, a shelter, a water feature and an area with personalized bricks for memorials.
The Veterans Cemetery – Fort Leonard Wood joins four other current sites in Higginsville, Springfield, Bloomfield and Jacksonville.
(Alan Lewis Gerstenecker is editor of the Rolla Daily News. He currently is working at the Daily Guide in Waynesville during a transitional period.)