LAWLER -- As work on a veterans memorial continues, supporters are seeking additional donations to help the effort.

The Lawler Veterans Monument Memorial will display granite tablets with names of those men and women from the community who served in the armed forces from the Civil War on.

Committee members working on the project spent more than a year compiling a list with more than 600 names. They then tracked down the individuals, their immediate family members or descendants.

"We started out just by (using) old school books and old school reunions and cemeteries and phone books … ," Jack McKone said. "And that is a huge, huge job."

Project coordinators are asking for a $100 donation per veteran to help fund the tribute, which will cost more than $100,000. Since researchers were unable to locate relatives of 60 people who served during the Civil War and World War I, organizers are looking for donors willing to sponsor those veterans' names.

The project, funded entirely with donations, is doing well financially, McKone said. Additional contributions will likely help with upkeep of the monument area.

In addition to the granite tablets, the memorial will also have a gazebo, benches, fountain and parking and will include three life-size statues representing various armed services. One unique feature, McKone said, will be a statue depicting a female member of the National Guard.

The memorial will near the intersection of highly traveled roads, Iowa Highway 24 and County Road V56, McKone said. Members of the Croell family donated land for the project.

Committee members also noted major contributors Anna Mary Carr and Willis Hansen.

So far, footings for the five stones are in place. Committee members hope to dedicate the memorial on Flag Day, which is June 14.

To donate or for information, call Jack McKone at (563) 238-3234, David Byrne at (563) 238-3983 or Norbert Shileny at (641) 394-2279.

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.