The Whispering Pines Veterans Memorial Was Built to Keep Growing

On Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, at 11:00 a.m., the Village of Whispering Pines will cut the ribbon on its new Veterans Memorial at 14 Hardee Lane, next to the Whispering Pines Police Department. The Village's fall newsletter opens its announcement with "The wait is over!" That wait started in 2021.

The memorial has an unusual history. No general contractor built it. The Village's Public Works Department handled the construction, did part of the work with its own crew, and brought in specialty firms for the rest so it could be finished with donated money. The design also leaves room to grow. The volunteer committee that shaped it planned a walkway that starts with blank pavers, and residents' engraved bricks replace those blanks over time.

From a Council Resolution to a Ribbon Cutting

The project took about five years to go from paperwork to pavement. These are the dates the Village's own records show:

1. September 8, 2021. A Village Council resolution created the Memorial Committee and gave it four jobs: find a site, propose the wording, materials and size, estimate the cost, and recommend a memorial to Council.
2. The committee forms. Rich Crotty, an Army veteran, served as facilitator. Members were Ron Boudreaux of the Army, Roy Cochrun of the Air Force, Eileen Giglio, who served as a Navy mother representing veterans' families, and Hunter Miller, an active-duty Air Force member. Village Clerk Linda Christopher and Public Works Director Bob Kissinger served as ex-officio members.
3. November 29, 2022. The committee agreed the memorial would honor veterans only. It proposed seven freestanding pillars, a center pillar with the Great Seal of the United States, lighting, and a memorial paver walkway.
4. April 2, 2026. The interim manager's report put donations at $48,900 and said Public Works would start construction that spring.
5. May 8, 2026. Groundbreaking took place on a Friday at 10:00 a.m.
6. November 11, 2026. Ribbon cutting and dedication.

From groundbreaking to dedication took about six months. Nearly everything before that was planning and fundraising. By the time anyone picked up a shovel, the committee had already been working on the plan for more than four years.

A Memorial Built in House

The committee's early cost estimate came to $40,400. It broke down this way:

• $22,400 for stone monoliths
• $8,000 for grading, concrete and brick pavers
• $10,000 for a bench, lighting, lettering and landscaping

By April 2026, donations totaled $48,900. That is more than the early estimate, but the Village didn't treat it as room to spare. Its April report says plainly that no contractor had been hired to build the memorial. Bob Kissinger, the Public Works Director, would oversee the project and work with Custom Monument Company, Santos Concrete LLC and Childress Electric on different parts of it. The report also says the Public Works Department would do some of the work itself "to be able to construct the memorial within the funds donated."

So the $48,900 figure is a donation total from the spring. It isn't the final project cost, and neither is the 2021 estimate. What both numbers show is that the goal was to build this memorial with gifts, and the Village's own crew made that possible.

Fundraising happened locally. One spring fundraiser, a "Cruise In for Veterans Memorial" at Hardee Lane Park on April 25, was sponsored by the Sandhills Classic Street Rod Association, with proceeds going to the memorial, according to a listing in The Pilot.

The Words at the Center

The committee proposed this inscription for the center monolith, under the Great Seal of the United States:

Honoring our Veterans, Who Have Served, Are Serving and Will Serve in the Defense of the United States of America

The "will serve" phrase made it from that 2021 proposal into this fall's announcements. The newsletter calls the memorial "a lasting tribute to the brave men and women who have served, are serving, and will serve our nation." The newsletter uses the same reach for the bricks, which can honor a future generation as well as veterans.

A Walkway That Starts With Blanks

In the committee's paver plan, blank pavers go along the two sidewalk entrances and exits. Residents buy engraved pavers through a private vendor, and Public Works orders them in batches, perhaps quarterly or twice a year. The crew then replaces blanks with engraved bricks on a schedule timed to the Village's Veterans Day or Memorial Day events.

That means the walkway will look a little different every time residents gather there for one of those days. The bricks will grow in number year after year as families add names.

The vendor is ITS Laser Engraving. The fall newsletter says a brick can honor "a beloved family member, a friend, a fallen hero, a current service member, or a future generation called to serve," and that each one "will be permanently installed in the memorial walkway." The ITS product page for the Whispering Pines memorial currently lists these options:

• 4-by-8-inch clay paver, one line of text: $23
• Each additional line: $1 more, up to five lines for $27
• Adding a symbol: $3 more
• Delivery: local pickup only

Prices on a retail page can change, so check the listing when you order. The committee's original plan tied installations to Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and the Village Hall staff can tell you when your brick is likely to go in.

The Rest of the Season Is on the Same Street

The memorial sits at the center of the Village's civic block. The Village Quick Guide lists Hardee Park at 10 Hardee Lane, with a picnic pavilion and a 0.65-mile walking trail. The Police Department is at 14 Hardee Lane and Fire Rescue is at 16. In May, Public Works added a new gravel seating area and landscaping around the pavilion and also worked on the park's multipurpose field.

Nearly every Village event from now until the holidays happens within a few hundred feet of the new memorial:

• November 1 through November 11. The Village has asked residents and businesses to show a green light in honor of veterans from November 1 through Veterans Day.
• November 1 through December 12. The Whispering Pines Police Department's third annual Pack-the-Cruiser Toy Drive collects new, unwrapped toys and gifts for local children and families this holiday season. The department's Facebook page has the details.
• Wednesday, November 11. Memorial ribbon cutting at 11:00 a.m. Village Hall will be closed that day, and the Council meeting moves to Thursday, November 12, at 6 p.m. Trash pickup doesn't change for Veterans Day.
• Starting Monday, November 23. The Whispering Pines Fire Rescue Department begins selling premium NC Fraser fir Christmas trees behind the fire station at 16 Hardee Lane. Sales run daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., except Thanksgiving Day, while supplies last. Proceeds go to the Whispering Pines Fire Rescue Association. Questions go to 910-949-2400.
• Thanksgiving week. Village Hall is closed Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, and there's no recycling pickup that week.
• Saturday, December 5. Santa's parade travels through the Village between 1 and 5 p.m. At 5 p.m., Happy Dan the Magic Man performs at the Hardee Park Pavilion while families wait to visit Santa. No pets are allowed.
• December 23 through 25. Village Hall is closed for Christmas. Christmas-week trash pickup doesn't change.

From the Santa pavilion to the memorial walkway is a short walk. Families waiting their turn on December 5 can easily look at the bricks while they're there.

Our family has called this part of Moore County home since the early 1970s, and the moments we remember best are when neighbors build something themselves, like this memorial. If you're thinking about a brick for someone in your family and want to know more about the walkway or the day's plans, Ross Laton is happy to help you find the right person at the Village. Let's Connect.