Chillicothe-Ross Military Tribute Museum Still on the March

The two leaders of the effort to create a “Military Tribute Museum” in Chillicothe offered an update and overview of the project.

Melody Lapczynski Hatfield is the author of “The Ohio Military Hall of Fame” and “The Carlisle – the History and the Renovation.” She also spearheaded making Chillicothe a “Purple Heart City.”

U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant Colonel Bob Leach is very active in leading veterans events, has been a history teacher at Huntington Schools, is a historian of local military history, and is working on a book on all military personnel from Ross County who died in action.

They say the Military Tribute Museum effort is in a “holding pattern” until the city is further through the process of moving the water services out of the facility on Park Street. They continue talking with the city, “hammering out details.”

In the below video, Hatfield and Leach describe the many possibilities for the building and its site, including added off-street parking spaces. Also, a “Global War on Terror” monument will be added to Veterans Park later this year. After that, there are thoughts on adding a Spanish-American War monument.

Leach and Hatfield also remind the public of the April 15th Greenlawn Cemetery funeral for Ward Raymond Thomas, a decorated WWII Army veteran who disappeared from the Chillicothe VA hospital in 1972. Find the first of my three articles on the identification of his remains and plans to commemorate him.

Hear Hatfield and Leach in their own words in the interview video in the article on the Scioto Post.

Melody Lapczynski Hatfield has a website and Facebook page, and Bob Leach can be contacted through email or through the Ross County Veterans Service Office.

Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.