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"How great is it that North Carolina ratified the Constitution here and then there is a visual reminder of the price paid for freedom at the ASOM and the new park." of Fayetteville worked to include $2.3 million in the state budget to put the park downtown. The city of Fayetteville used the initial $2.3 million to buy land adjacent to the Air- borne & Special Operations Museum and Freedom Memorial Park and occupied by the deteriorating Days Inn Motel. That was fol- lowed by the purchase and demolition of the Silver Pond, a restaurant located adjacent to Veterans from all American wars are honored in the park, which is the only park in North Carolina dedicated solely to honoring the service of the state's veterans. Air Force and Coast Guard as well as at-large members who are not veterans. Craig Hampton, the city's project manager for the park served on all the committees. "The Design Review Committee looked at the physical aspects of the park. It included someone from NC State University trained in ADA compliance. The Content Committee dealt more with all the meanings." Hampton said. "They served as the moral conscience, making sure the design and all that went into the park was respectful to the military and the message was true," he added. City Councilman and retired 1st Sergeant Keith Bates served on the 18-member Con- tent Committee, charged with determining what would be included in the park and its ap- propriate uses. "We'd have consultants come and pitch an idea. Then we would discuss it and tweak it and make a decision," Bates said. Initially, the committee met monthly, but as construction on the park ramped up, the committee would meet every other week and sometimes even weekly, he said. Essentially, the committee provided rec- 42 | Accents • 2011 - 2012 ommendations on how the park could be used by veterans and veterans' organizations as well as the primary themes to be expressed in the design and the desired types of facili- ties and exhibits incorporated into the park. The park's overall theme is "A Veteran's Journey: Life before, during and after ser- vice." Representing the phases of a veteran's journey are three main outdoor areas: Com- munity Plaza, Service Plaza and the Reflec- tion Garden. Throughout the park, designers incorporated both obvious and not-so-obvious symbols, among them the repetitive use of the number five, which represents the five military branches. Another symbolic gesture is the use of soil from all 100 North Carolina counties in the Community Plaza construction. The genesis of the park came about soon after the first Gulf War. Both Cumberland and Mecklenburg counties vied for the park, but in 1997 then Gov. Jim Hunt endorsed Cumber- land County's bid. Cumberland County spent $130,000 for 34-acres on N.C. 24 near Sted- man. However, a lack of money stymied the plan until 2005, when state Sen. Tony Rand NC Governor Bev Perdue was one of several distinguished speakers during the dedication service. the Days Inn property. The state of North Car- olina eventually appropriated a total of $15 million for the park's construction. Iman said the second phase of the park will be developed on the other side of Cross Creek where the Rowan Street Bridge now spans. John Meroski, president of the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said his agency created a co-op marketing plan to market ASOM, Veterans Park and downtown. "It will tell our story from pre-revolutionary times to today and connecting it to the other 30 plus sites we have for military related at- tractions. How great is it that North Carolina ratified the Constitution here and then there is a visual reminder of the price paid for freedom at ASOM and the new park," Meroski said. H

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