AEP Employees Help With Traveling World War II Memorial

A number of AEP employees have been involved with a non-profit group, Freedom’s Never Free, that organizes appreciation celebrations for military veterans.

A number of AEP employees have been involved with a non-profit group, Freedom’s Never Free, that organizes appreciation celebrations for military veterans.

The Freedom’s Never Free group, based in central Ohio, has also helped build a number of traveling memorials to service members who died in World War II, the Korean War, and Small Wars and Conflicts from the 1950s to now.

“From participating in the monthly planning meetings to volunteering their time and manual labor helping build the traveling memorials, we’ve been blessed with a small handful of AEP employees who have donated their help,” said Jeannie Phillips-Ball, president of the organization.

Employees Aaron Baker, designer principal; Kyle Edwards, designer principal; and Susan Acton, project coordinator senior, all of whom work for AEP Transmission in New Albany, have provided their time and talent to help create the memorials over the past few years.

Baker and Edwards drew up plans for various segments of the World War II memorial, and Acton helped paint and attach stars, and brought her father, a Korean War veteran, to help as well.

Phillips-Ball, IT support technician principal, IT Depot, Groveport, worked on the memorial from start to finish, helping drill holes, paint, cut wood, attach stars and put together panels.

The Freedom’s Never Free group organizes and carries out an annual military veterans recognition event each November, held in Lancaster, Ohio.

The Traveling World War II Memorial, modeled after the permanent National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was built in 2015. It is now taken around the country to events that honor veterans and the military. The memorial consists of a Wall of Stars, Atlantic and Pacific Pavilions; 56 pillars reprsenting the states, districts and territories in existence during the World War II era, with oak and wheat wreaths, and granite slabs with quotes from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Gen. Douglas McArthur. The World War II memorial will be in southeast Missouri July 3-8.

This year, the organization will display five traveling memorials to honor the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country at the annual Freedom’s Never Free appreciation celebration: the Traveling WWII Memorial, the Traveling Korean Memorial, the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, the Traveling Lima Company’s Eyes of Freedom, and the Traveling Small Wars and Conflicts Memorial. These memorials have never appeared together before.

The National World War II Memorial, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., includes 56 pillars representing the unity of all U.S. states and territories at the time of the war; the Freedom Wall including 4,048 stars each representing 100 U.S. soldiers who died in the war; and pavilion-like arches commemorating victory in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of the war.