Johnny Ro Veteran's Memorial Park Legend

Johnny Ro Veteran's Memorial Park Legend. . , Jonathan "Johnny Ro" Roberge, a Leominster native was killed in action in Mosul, Iraq, on February 9, 2009. , He served in the United States Army, and he was a tank driver. There were three men killed with him that day, Pfc. Albert Jex, Lt. Col. Darby, and Sgt. Joshua Ward. , The four battle crosses on the walkway leading up to the tank represent these four brave soldiers that gave their all. , The tank is for Jonathan, and was obtained from North Carolina and was brought up to Leominster on a flat bed truck. , It was dedicated as it's own entity in 2011., The blast walls represent the safe zone for the soldiers fighting on the ground. They are all around in the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. , They are constructed out of concrete and even though ours are smaller, they stand for a safe place for our military men and women. , In Iraq, the soldiers themselves have written the names of all the fallen soldiers on the blast walls. , Here we recreated that with the names of the fallen from Massachusetts in this war. Our names are painted in the same color as the soldiers used. , The opposite blast wall, you see the photos of our fallen heroes. Each man and woman is represented, coinciding with their name. , Our hut is similar to the huts in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have small huts in which to live and work. , The large rock near the statue is almost exactly like a rock in Iraq that the soldiers found in the desert. , They made a memorial out of it to honor Jonathan and the three men killed with him that day. , We were able to find this rock to recreate that memorial, and also honor them right here. , The life sized statue of Jonathan was the final piece to our park. His younger brother Andrew posed for this statue as a tribute to his older brother. , On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set today a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. , Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee. , An Excerpt from Concord Hymn , By Ralph Waldo Emerson