May is Military Appreciation Month, and the Indiana War Memorials Foundation has begun a memorial makeover – with meaning.

The two-part renovation to its downtown Indianapolis grounds involves new trees and granite markers dedicated to veterans.

Gen. Stewart Goodwin, Executive Director of Indiana War Memorials Commission, says, “It started when we took 50 trees out. These were crabapple trees planted in the early 1970’s that have a life of about 30 years,” he added. “Finally got to a point where they lived their lives, and it was time to do something different.”

That ‘something different’ involved planting new types of trees that hold special meaning to the memorial grounds. The trees represent countries that allied the United States in World War One.

“There were five major countries, and they were Belgium, Italy, Serbia, United Kingdon and France, along with the U.S.,” says Goodwin. “We thought ‘we want to plant some trees’, but we want to have some historical connection.”

And so research began on which trees from those countries would also grow well here in Indiana. The trees native to our WWI allies include Princeton Elm, Yellowwood, White Oak, Ohio Buckeye, and others.

Goodwin says, “It’s something that will last forever. And the granite stone that’ll go with each tree, they’re stories they’ve told about people. What they’ve served in, when, what battles they were in…anything we can do to teach the citizens about what that 10% did so that we can live free.” He adds, “We’re all about honoring ordinary Hoosiers that did extraordinary things.”

The granite markers dedicated to local veterans will be placed at the trees during the summer months. The Indiana War Memorials Foundation may plant more trees with markers in the future.