Grundy Town Council during its Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026 meeting
about his proposal to create a veterans memorial in the grassy
area near the traffic light beside the Grundy Community Center
(photo by Chad Cooper).
Longtime Buchanan County educator Ken Smith is asking town and county leaders to work together to create a visible memorial honoring local men and women who served and died in the nation’s wars.
Smith presented the idea during the Grundy Town Council’s regular meeting Aug. 11. His proposal calls for placing the memorial in the grassy area near the traffic light beside the Grundy Community Center.
“Most every community around here, some size, has a war veterans kind of a monument park or something,” Smith told council members. “Not necessarily real big or anything like that, but something.”
Smith, a former history and government teacher with Buchanan County Public Schools, said he previously discussed the proposal with the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors during its Aug. 3 meeting. He encouraged the town and county to work together to develop an appropriate memorial.
Smith said veterans were once honored during annual Fourth of July programs near the Buchanan County Courthouse. His father and other members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars participated in ceremonies recognizing local service members who were killed during wartime.
“Before we were a twinkle in anybody’s eye, those men and women fought and died for us,” Smith said. “They need to be somewhere.”
Smith recalled attending funeral services with VFW members for Buchanan County servicemen killed during the Vietnam War. He said those experiences stayed with him and helped shape his desire to ensure that the county’s veterans are remembered.
“All of them need to be remembered,” Smith said.
Among those represented on an existing marker are Gentry and Childs, the two veterans for whom the local VFW post is named. Smith said the marker deserves to be placed in a prominent location where it can be seen and treated with respect.
“You know, down at the courthouse is fine, but they need seen, they remembered,” he said.
Smith believes the grassy area beside the Grundy Community Center would provide a fitting location because of its visibility and connection to the community. American flags are also displayed in the area during patriotic observances.
“The red light would be the right spot, because they all came through,” Smith said. “Even the guys from the War Between the States came through Grundy Courthouse.”
Smith emphasized that he is not seeking money or asking to manage the project. He said he simply wants to encourage local officials to consider the idea and find a respectful way to honor those who served.
“I don’t want no money,” Smith said. “I don’t want to be no project person or anything like that. I’m just being the old government history teacher person.”
Smith said the memorial would not need to be large or elaborate. Instead, he envisions a tasteful and accessible site that could serve as the centerpiece of the town’s patriotic displays.
“I don’t want it to be a monstrosity on the mountain,” he said.
In addition to the veterans memorial, Smith raised several other historical matters for the town to consider. He asked about the former location of a Sons of Confederate Veterans display that had been near the community center and whether it could be returned.
Smith, a member of the local Sons of Confederate Veterans organization, also asked what happened to historical items that were housed at the former Grundy airport before the old building was demolished.
He also suggested creating some form of recognition for the Grundy Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Smith said the squadron was ranked the top unit in the Virginia Wing in 1991 and that former members have asked why the accomplishment has never been publicly recognized.
“It’s been 35 years, so it’s just something that people ask me about since I’m still a member,” Smith said.
Smith’s discussion centered on the importance of preserving Buchanan County’s history and ensuring that the sacrifices and accomplishments of local residents are not forgotten.
He left town officials with a challenge to collaborate with the county, local veterans organizations and community members to place the existing markers in a setting where future generations can see them and understand the sacrifices they represent.
