A Sad Day for the American Soldier

 

In a 4 to 2 vote, the city of Camdenton has put an ‘Expiration Date’ for honoring the American WWII soldiers who died in the war and their families.

On July 29th, 1949 ‘Camdenton Memorial Airport’ was dedicated to the 420,000 Americans that were killed in WWII fighting for their country. Put in to perspective, this is almost 140 times more lives than were lost on 9/11.

With no supporting data other than a few personal opinions, led by Alderman Sandy Osborn, a motion was made and seconded by Steve Eden to remove the word ‘Memorial’ and replace it with ‘Lake of the Ozarks, Regional’. The motion passed. Their argument for justifying this action, “This name change will bring more business to Camdenton.”

This disgraceful act dishonors both those who died in the 2nd World War and their Families. The Airport Advisory Board and the Camdenton Board of Aldermen should be ashamed.  The ‘Memorial’ name belongs to the people, not the 4 that voted for the change. The ‘Memorial’ is part of our Cultural Heritage it is unique, irreplaceable and beautiful which places the responsibility of preservation on our current generation. What message are they passing on to our younger generations, money is more important than their commitment to honor these heroes? How ironic, men and women fought selflessly and died to preserve our way of life, only to be dishonored 65 years later when their Memorial is taken away by selfish business men. What’s next, turning Cemeteries into Strip Malls?

Where is the outcry from the community? Could it be that they were unaware of this action? I saw no public announcement from the city. It was only after the vote that the Lake Sun Leader ran an article titled “Airport to get a name change, Camdenton Regional Airport will soon be called Camdenton Lake of the Ozarks Regional Airport”. By misidentifying ‘Camdenton Memorial’ and calling it ‘Camdenton Regional’ the community was misled about what was actually happening.

If you are as concerned as I am, and don’t feel there is an expiration date on remembering those who died in war, contact Camdenton Mayor McNabb at (573)346-3600 or mayor@camdentoncity.com and let him know how you feel. I did. Also, go to my website www.savecamdentonmemorialairport.com or email me at savecamdentonmemorialairport@gmail.com and leave a comment.

P.S. I learned of the Alderman’s vote through the LakeExpo.com Web site. In their follow-up article covering the Public Comments on the name change, the article suggested I was OK with just placing a Memorial ‘Marker’ at the airport in lieu of the current name. This is not true. My recommendation to the Board was to keep the name as is and to place a ‘Marker’ reaffirming our commitment to both those who died and their families.

 

Lt Col Max Fisher USAF (retired)

Lt. Elgin is far left in this picture that was taken 2 weeks prior to the B-25 crash. Capt. Dixon, center seated, was the Aircraft Commander he, my Uncle the Copilot and 5 other airmen died in the crash.