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A forest honoring the memory of fallen military members, first responders and law enforcement officers is being planted across Nebraska one grove at a time.
A dedication for one such grove for those who served from Burt County will be at 10 a.m. May 17 at Summit Lake State Recreation Area near Tekamah. The public is invited.
This grove and other memorial groves planted or planned are part of the Nebraska Memorial Forest, which is meant to “be a living memorial that gives lasting comfort and support to the fallen hero’s family,” according to Jim Meier, director of Honor and Remember Nebraska, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization.
“More than 1.3 million gave all to defend our country, 7,500 of those who gave all are Nebraskans,” Meier said. “Nebraska communities planting and nurturing a tree is quite doable and seems like such a small action we Nebraskans can take to pay tribute in each of their names.”
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission donated 92 trees for the Summit Lake SRA grove and planted them near the park entrance Oct. 30. The grove represents a variety of species native to Nebraska.
Each tree has the name of a military member, first responder or law enforcement officer who died while serving or from causes directly related from having served. A sign near the trees has a QR code to a website that lists the GPS location of each tree and the name and information of that person associated with it.
Nebraska Memorial Forest tree eligibility is for any Nebraska fallen military, first responder or law enforcement from the Spanish-American War until today. Meier said that includes 7,500 known Nebraskans. And he plans to plant a tree for each of them.
The memorial forest began with the planting of 60 trees in Omaha’s Levi-Carter Park in 2022. To date, trees have been planted in 15 locations across Nebraska. Two of the sites have been dedicated.
Meier, who hopes to have the Nebraska Memorial Forest completed by 2030, said 1,785 of the 7,500 trees have been planted.
May 17 is Free Fishing and Park Entry Day in Nebraska’s state park areas, so no park entry permit is required at Summit Lake SRA.
For more information on the Nebraska Memorial Forest, or to get involved, visit honorandremembernebraska.org/nebraska-memorial-forest/.
