Fond du Lac County is looking to renovate its Veterans Park, with the goal of honoring all servicemembers in the community, March 10, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Tom Meiklejohn)
FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Fond du Lac County is looking to renovate its Veterans Park, with the goal of honoring all servicemembers in the community.
However, the funds needed for the project are lofty, and the county still has plenty of money to raise.
Since the 1980s, Veterans Park in Fond du Lac has provided a place for everyone to gather while recognizing those who have served our country.
“I wanted to bring a Washington, D.C. style memorial to Fond du Lac because I think that’s very impactful and the support I’ve received personally from this community says that we support our veterans,” Director of Fond du Lac County Veteran Services David Tellefsen said.
Tellefsen served in the military for 22 years. He knows not every veteran is able to travel to our nation’s capital to see the memorials. But with the help of Fond du Lac Area Foundation and Fond du Lac County Veterans Services, all area veterans will soon be honored with a new and improved space in their hometown.
“I want people to know what this park is and how impactful it is to us as veterans, because it is huge,” Tellefsen said.
Improvements will include a paved event stage for celebrations, ADA accessibility, a gold star centerpiece to represent families of the fallen, a memorial walk with a brick wall and emblems with every branch of service on pillars. The transformed park will also eventually have honor bricks people can purchase.
Right now, the project already has $400,000 donated from the county, but about $266,000 more is still needed for the park to become a reality. The total amount needed in order to break ground is $666,000.
Added features like specialty lighting and a new sound system will be an extra $170,000.
“It’s hard to say when you’re standing here right now, but when you see the facelift that it’s gonna have, I tell you, it will move anybody — whether you’re a veteran or not,” Tellefsen said.
It’s the very thought of doing this project that already has area veterans feeling appreciated.
“Being born and raised here, and then to come back and see that there is this big push for veterans is amazing. It really is and feels good,” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Joshua Boyenga said.
The goal is to break ground in the coming months and have the park ready to go by Veterans Day. Right now, no specialty fundraising events are scheduled. Click here to donate.
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