I found Sue Karahalois’s recent article (“Soundoff,” Jan. 3) discussing all that has been done over the last six years of effort to honor “all who served” very impressive. She and all the others who worked so tirelessly are to be commended for their dedication to what could have been a magnificent memorial. It’s sad to realize that all that time and effort show no tangible results.

In my opinion it’s also sad that with the current economy and taxpayers demanding better accounting for, and use of, their tax dollars that a memorial as grandiose as presented in her discussion will probably never become reality even with another six years of time and effort.

I think that in Jharv Tull’s letter, his plea, “that more is done in our local area to honor those who serve or have served” could be satisfied with much less than that targeted in the six year planning effort.

Oak Harbor had a Memorial Stadium honoring those who served in WWI, but with the new high school stadium it’s now gone and evidently forgotten. Also, I get the impression that nothing planned to date included ALL of those who served our country from ALL branches of the Armed Services, and especially all who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. To me it sounded like a plan for a large area with several displays honoring specific squadrons, incidents, etc., similar to some of those currently located on the base.

Times have changed and we should be more realistic by focusing our limited time, talent, and financial resources toward early fruition of a plan for a single memorial located in an existing Oak Harbor park, or some other central location. It should not be base oriented, which gets bogged down competing with Pentagon priorities or other federally mandated programs, i.e., public health care, public works programs, bailouts, etc.

Maybe the Oak Harbor Arts Commission could rethink some of their projects and modify one of their art works to make it and the location become art as a part of an Oak Harbor military service memorial.

I am confident with some realistic goals and creative thinking, a memorial could be completed for a fraction of the cost of the previous six-year planning effort. A single Oak Harbor memorial honoring ALL who served in ALL branches of the service in ALL past, current and future wars could actually be completed in our, or at least, Jharv Tull’s lifetime.

Bill Strowbridge

Oak Harbor