PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. — The Louisiana Medal of Honor Park in Belle Chasse sits unfinished about 18 years after construction began here.
Seabees from the neighboring Naval Air Station and Joint Reserve Base, built the five large concrete structures that make up the monument.
They are meant to display the names of nearly 4,000 medal recipients from the Civil War to present day conflicts.
“It’s on ongoing process for sure and the upkeep of it and the maintenance and everything,” park designer and board member Jody Coyne said.
Medal of Honor Park has survived on the generosity of donors and volunteers over the years. Funding to complete and maintain the park has been in short supply.
Despite the challenges, the 34-acre park is a labor of love for Coyne.
He says the site is a tribute all those who have served in the military.
“I thank them for everything that they’ve done,” Coyne said. “I had a grandfather in World War I, dad in World War II and Korea, brother in Vietnam.”
The park is a special place, especially for Plaquemines Parish’s military community.
Sergeant First Class Donald Sino from Braithwaite just retired after 26 years in the Army.
He ended his annual 6-mile long Memorial Day march, crossing over the Belle Chasse Bridge, then heading down Barrier Road to Medal of Honor Park.
“I start from Manhattan Fitness and come up that bridge and I just got to give my soul and everything and once I come across this Medal of Honor Park, I really, really appreciate this,” Sino said.
Sino says he marches in honor of two young soldiers who lost their lives in an IED attack during his last deployment in Afghanistan.
“I can tell my story, but they can’t tell their story, you know,” Sino said. “They passed away, but I’m here living their dream for them.”
There is now hope the monument may finally reach its full potential.
Plans are in the works to build the new main gate to the Navy base, right across the street from the park.
Coyne says as part of that project, a federal grant would help pay to complete the site.
“If everything goes right, we should finally have a nice pavilion building with restrooms and stuff for the public, a large playground area in the front and a museum building off to the left side," Coyne said. “We hope we can complete this and dedicate this, have another re-dedication ceremony to honor everyone’s that ever given the ultimate sacrifice.”
A spokesman for the Navy base says the timetable for a new main gate is unclear.
Plaquemines Parish President Kirk Lepine is hopeful it will happen within the next two years.