Marks seeks memorial in Towson for veterans of Middle East conflicts

Fifth District Baltimore County Councilman David Marks says he will introduce a council resolution next month for creation of a memorial at the county courthouse for veterans of the Middle East conflicts over the last two decades.

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Persian Gulf War, and the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that spurred our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq," Marks said on Tuesday, Aug. 16. "I think it is fitting to support construction to those who served in these conflicts."

Marks said he will introduce the resolution at the County Council's Sept. 6 meeting.

Private funds would pay for the memorial, he said, and the county would provide the land at the courthouse — which Marks said means the monument would have no initial cost to taxpayers.

Marks said his proposal found its origins at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the county courthouse this past May.

Local attorney Michael Lawlor, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam and was involved in the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, gave a speech that day and spoke to Marks afterward about the possibility of constructing a new monument for the soldiers who have served and lost their lives in America's most recent conflicts.

Lawlor has two nephews who served in Iraq, one of whom died in a helicopter accident at Camp Pendleton while training for his second tour of duty in January 2004.

Additionally, in his role as a colonel in the Legal Services Unit of the Maryland Defense Force, Lawlor gets the chance work with soldiers and their families.

"We have a lot of county people who have sons, nephews and other relatives who have been involved in this," Lawlor said.

He also knows the number of families affected by war is probably higher than anyone might imagine. He said that when he was approached to help with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the county gave him a list of 40 names for the monument, suspecting the number was a bit low. Ultimately, Lawlor discovered 146 Baltimore County residents had lost their lives in Vietnam.

Now, he believes the time has come for more recent veterans to be honored at the county courthouse.

"The courthouse is a place for monuments like this, and I think we need one for the people that have been killed in (these conflicts)," Lawlor said.