Vero Beach in Indian River County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary

Photographed by Jay Kravetz, June 2, 2016

1. Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Marker

Inscription. River travel was vital to the early human activity of Florida and the Indian River area. In the early 1900's, efforts began to dredge the Indian River. By the 1930's, the U.S. Corps of Engineers routinely maintained this channel called the Intracoastal Waterway. After World War II the channel was once again slated for dredging and Alex MacWilliam, Sr., a veteran and member of the Florida Legislature, proposed a special project and persuaded the federal government to realign the existing Vero Beach channel to make way for a modern drawbridge (the first Merrill P. Barber Bridge) and to create a memorial island with the surplus dredging material. Lest We Forget are the words used in the dedication of this island on May 3, 1964. This one man and hundreds of citizens in Indian River County did not forget and 17 years later created Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary. The Vero Beach Beautification Society and the Garden Club coordinated the beautification of the property. Today the Stars and Stripes wave proudly over this Island Sanctuary which can be seen from the deep channel of the Intracoastal Waterway and the two modern bridges

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now spanning the Indian River.

Erected 2005 by The Indian River County Historical Society The Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Advisory Committee And The Florida Department Of State. (Marker Number F-559.)

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Military.

Location. 27° 38.86′ N, 80° 22.113′ W. Memorial is in Vero Beach, Florida, in Indian River County. It can be reached from Dahlia Lane west of Riverside Park Drive when traveling west. The marker is on the island within the park. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Vero Beach FL 32963, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in the Space Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least

Photographed by Jay Kravetz, June 2, 2016

2. Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Marker

8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lest We Forget (a few steps from this marker); To Those Who Paid The Supreme Sacrifice (a few steps from this marker); World War I 1917 - 1918 Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Pearl Harbor Survivors Association (within shouting distance of this marker); Peace Tree (within shouting distance of this marker); POW★MIA Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Heroes All (within shouting distance of this marker); Vietnam Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vero Beach.

Also see . . . Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary. Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Photos (Submitted on June 4, 2016, by Jay Kravetz of West Palm Beach, Florida.)

Photographed by Jay Kravetz, June 2, 2016

3. Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Marker

Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jay Kravetz, June 2, 2016

4. Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 4, 2016, by Jay Kravetz of West Palm Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 966 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 4, 2016, by Jay Kravetz of West Palm Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.