CENTRE HALL — A local family is working to establish a memorial at the Centre County Grange Park to honor Centre County veterans, including those missing in action and prisoners of war.
The POW/MIA Veteran Tribute area will be situated near gate four at the Grange Fairgrounds, accessible via Route 45, at the entrance adjacent to the road leading to the equestrian arena. The entire project is set to be dedicated in 2024; however, the flagpole and flag were already erected during this year’s Grange Fair.
Deb Burger, co-owner of Hairworks in State College and the Bellefonte Borough tax collector/treasurer, talked about the memorial.
“The 40-foot flagpole is in and flags are flying and the Pennsylvania black granite monument that will house the brass emblems of each branch of the military and the POW/MIA emblem has been ordered,” Burger said.
Burger, a Bellefonte native and the youngest of six siblings, is leading the project alongside four of her siblings, their spouses and their families. She was inspired by her brother-in-law, a member of the Grange committee, who mentioned the fair’s interest in erecting a flagpole near gate four.
“We all agreed that we wanted to take on this project. Being our mother’s children, we knew how our parents would want this done with the dignity and honor that it deserves and not halfway,” Burger explained.
For Burger’s family, the memorial holds significance due to their veteran relatives, including her oldest brother, who remains missing in action.
“I feel it is our duty and my honor to recognize our veterans. Plus, my oldest brother is MIA from the Vietnam War. He was shot down in Laos on May 30, 1968. Our dad was also in World War II and Korea,” she said. “If it wasn’t for our military, we wouldn’t have the freedoms we all enjoy.”
Her brother, Major Lewis P. Smith II of Bellefonte, was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force and a 1964 Penn State graduate.
Burger’s family collaborated with the Centre County Grange Fair Board to facilitate donations and manage the financial aspects of the POW/MIA Veteran Tribute. Additionally, Howard’s Boy Scout Troop 353 contributed by raising the flags, distributing flyers and collecting donations during the Grange Fair parade.
While Burger and her siblings are working on this project in honor of their brother, she emphasized that the POW/MIA Veteran Tribute is a universal endeavor.
“We want to honor ALL veterans and want to keep the mission of the POW/MIA issue before the public so that we may get the fullest possible accounting of all of our loved ones,” she stated.
Burger has consistently advocated for veterans and active service members, participating in various projects across Centre County over the years. Since 2015, she has been involved with the Hometown Hero Banner committee. In 2019, she collaborated with a Scout on a veteran brick-name flag area at Benner Township Community Park for an Eagle Scout project. In 2021, she was instrumental in placing a Missing Man Chair of Honor in Beaver Stadium. In 2023, her years of effort led to the renaming of Benner Township Community Park as Benner Township Veterans Community Park and the ballfield within the park was named after Dennis Johnstonbaugh, a disabled veteran.
Burger and her family continue to raise funds for the memorial. She said the project carries an $80,000 price tag, with $40,000 allocated for the granite markers. They have crossed the halfway point in reaching their financial goal, she said.
Those interested in contributing can complete a donation form and make checks payable to Centre County Grange Encampment, with POW/MIA Veteran Tribute in the memo line. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 271, Centre Hall, PA 16828-0271.
