By Penny Williams
Staff writer
August 20, 2008 01:32 am HAMPSTEAD — The town may soon get a new war memorial, one honoring servicemen and women who have served since the end of the Vietnam War. Brett Hamel, a member of Boy Scout Troop 163 in Chester, is working on the project in pursuit of Eagle Scout status. The Pinkerton Academy sophomore wants to have the names of all servicemen and women who entered the military from Hampstead and served in wars after Vietnam engraved on a monument stone. The stone would match the Korean and Vietnam war memorials in Veterans Park at Town Hall. His goal is to have the monument in place by November 2009. Hamel is working with Howie Steadman, his Pinkerton Academy Air Force Junior ROTC instructor, who is on Hampstead's Patriotic Purposes Committee. The cost of the proposed project is $5,000 and Hamel said he has already raised $2,600. He will be fundraising at the Chester Fair on Sept. 6. Anyone interested in assisting him with financial donations, material or volunteer labor can call him at 603-329-7166 or e-mail b.hameleagleproject@hotmail.com. Donation checks should be made out to Troop 163 Brett Hamel Eagle Project and sent to the Hampstead Town Hall Office, 11 Main St., Hampstead, NH 03841. Hamel said he chose this project for two specific reasons. "I wanted to do something that later on when I have children, I can take them and show them what I did," he said. "But, more important, these men and women deserve to have their names on a monument." Hamel is asking Hampstead families who have had family members in the service since the Vietnam War to contact him with the names and documentation of that service. Steadman said he will be responsible for verification of the names for the memorial.
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Photos
Boy Scout Brett Hamel is trying to raise money for a new war memorial in Hampstead, one that would honor servicemen and women who have served since the end of the Vietnam War. Hamel stands in the spot where the memorial would go. Staff photo