ROCKINGHAM — Earlier this month, the board of county commissioners approved a $5,000 donation to the Norman Field of Honor during its June meeting.
As the commissioners were about to adjourn, Commissioner Andy Grooms proposed using the remaining commissioner allotment, which he said is about $15,000, to provide the $5,000 donation to the Norman Field of Honor.
“For those of you who don’t know, it’s basically like the VFW in Rockingham. They have their own field in Norman where they’re honoring veterans, it’s growing,” Grooms said. “They currently have one monument there, that any citizen in Richmond County can get their loved one’s name that served in the military on it. It’s mostly for the northern part of the county. Derby, Ellerbe, Norman, Windblow, but anybody can do it.”
Grooms said the current monument at the Field of Honor is full, and the new funds will go toward a new monument and its installation. He also noted that a small fee is required to have a name engraved on the monument.
“The last bid they got was around $4,400. That was about a year and a half ago, two years, so I don’t know if that’s changed,” Grooms said.
Grooms made the motion to give the $5,000 directly to the vendor, with any remaining funds to be used as a donation. He noted the vendor is a local business in Rockingham, saying “the money would be staying in the county.” Commissioner Dr. Rick Watkins seconded the motion, and the board unanimously approved the donation.
The Field of Honor project was approved by the Norman council at its May 2023 meeting and held its groundbreaking in March 2024. It is located next to the Norman Stage behind Town Hall. In 2024, The town of Norman held its first Veterans Day service at the Field of Honor, where local veterans were honored at the ceremony, including two World War II veterans: former Norman Mayor Willie Quick and Melford Greene.