The Dumont American Legion broke ground on its Veterans Memorial in July. The memorial will be located in the empty lot between the Dumont American Legion Building and the Dumont Area Emergency Center.
Al Buseman is a member of the legion and spoke with RadioOnTheGo during the Dumont Sandbaggin’ Day celebration in June about how the idea got started.
“Well this all came about starting last October when we realized that the lot, which had been privately owned previous, was donated to the city. And the Legion had talked from time to time about a memorial, so it presented a perfect time to do that. And one thing led to another. I suggested that we look into that. The rest of the club asked me to make a sketch of what I had in mind. One thing led to another, and here we are.”
The American Legion will host a live music salute Sunday, September 8th on Main Street with all proceeds going toward the new memorial. Buseman says support for the project has been overwhelming.
“Allowing us to start the first phase of this in July, the whole premise of this is to honor our veterans of course. There are lots of veterans in the Dumont surrounding area, more than most people anticipate or have realized. Each veteran, both present and deceased, will have a paver with their name engraved in it along with the branch of service they served. There will be over 400 veterans from the Dumont area that will have a paver that recognizes their service to the country. We are doing this all free of charge for the families of the veterans.”
Buseman says the memorial should be completed by Memorial Day weekend 2025, with plans of hosting a grand opening that weekend. The Dumont American Legion’s live music salute will be held Sunday, September 8th from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Main Street near the new memorial. You are asked to bring a lawn chair to the event.
