A proposed flagpole in Sisters has created a lot of fuss — and sparked a debate about whether military memorials help veterans.

The installation of a flagpole at the Village Green Park, next to a memorial plaque being built there, has been at the center of discussions — some of them heated — between the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Sisters and the Sister City Council, according to Post Commander Phil Gale and City Councilor Bill Merrill.

The City Council has not made a final decision, but will discuss the issue further Tuesday. The flagpole has also highlighted differing viewpoints about the value of military memorials.

Local veterans agreed that members of the military should be recognized and honored for their service. Some believe memorials ensure veterans feel appreciated and heighten public awareness about veterans’ issues. But other veterans said a flag or plaque doesn’t mean much to those who are struggling to find housing or health care.

“I personally feel that slapping a memorial up, basically, is just kind of window dressing,” Bend veteran Rob Bryce said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘We have to remember those who can’t speak for themselves because they’re gone’; I’d just like to care for those who are still here.”

Bryce, 61, served in the U.S. Army for three years, including one tour in Vietnam. He was a founding member and past president of Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, a nonprofit that focuses on helping homeless veterans and runs a transitional housing facility in Bend.

He was also a past president of the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

But Bend resident Dick Tobiason, 73, an Army veteran who also served in Vietnam, said memorials are a tangible sign of appreciation that can be important for veterans recovering from the trauma of war. He has been involved in dozens of local efforts to create memorials, and he has written state and federal officials about the issue.

“Memorials are important for veterans,” Tobiason said. “It’s part of the healing process and a part of being recognized for serving your country. And it honors the families of veterans.”

Though Tobiason might be best known for the Bend Parade of Flags, a flag display in downtown Bend that appears on Memorial Day, Independence Day and other significant holidays, he said he tries to balance his efforts to honor fallen service members with efforts to help veterans in need.

He has ferried veterans to Portland for medical appointments, donates money and supplies to COVO, and has written to lawmakers about creating assisted-living facilities for veterans and enabling Central Oregon service members to get health care in their home communities, instead of Portland.

Multiplying markers

Central Oregon has seen a variety of memorials spring up in recent years.

In 2004, a bridge on South Century Drive near Sunriver was named the Robert D. Maxwell Veterans Memorial Bridge, to honor Oregon’s only living Medal of Honor recipient — a Bend resident — and recognize other veterans.

Last year, the walkway on the bridge where Newport Avenue crosses the Deschutes River in Bend was named after Lance Cpl. Randy Newman of Bend, who was killed in August 2006 in Iraq. The bridge itself was renamed the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

A bronze sculpture depicting a U.S. soldier helping an Iraqi girl will be installed in Madras later this year, to honor Army Pfc. Tom Tucker of Madras, who was abducted and killed in June 2006 in Iraq.

The Bend Metro Park and Recreation District is currently considering whether to add a memorial to Brooks Park, on the west end of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The district has collected roughly 180 questionnaires from the public about a possible memorial but has yet to make a final decision.

And in Sisters, a plaque on a lava rock at the Village Green Park should be installed in time for its dedication on Memorial Day, Sisters VFW Post Commander Gale said, whether or not a flagpole is erected.

The flag touched off controversy when the post asked the city to kick in the money for it.

The Sisters City Council then asked if a second memorial would detract from an existing military marker on the west end of town, and the issue got out of hand, according to both groups.

Sisters resident Gale, 47, a Navy veteran who served in Desert Storm, said he doesn’t believe memorials divert money or attention away from issues that affect veterans today.

“We can do both,” he said. In fact, he said, the post plans to get more involved in ongoing issues, by helping veterans claim medical care and other benefits, and writing to lawmakers — even helping a local group send care packages to loved ones in the service.

Gale said memorials provide a focal point for ceremonies and events where veterans can connect with each other — and help each other out.

“It brings the veterans together,” he said. “And (then you hear), ‘Hey, how are you doing? What’s going on in your life? You need anything? You need anything, give me a call. Here’s my card.’”

Bend resident Rick Gehweiler, 69, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, said he believes memorials are, in fact, a vital springboard when it comes to securing money and services to help veterans in need.

He has also been involved with Central Oregon Veterans Outreach.

“I think those memorials, those images, keep people aware,” he said. “And that’s what it takes when we go out and raise money for a homeless shelter or a veterans shelter.”

He said he believed the proliferation of memorials around the region show the public has become more educated and more aware of the difficulties many veterans face.

Honoring the living

Vietnam veteran Bryce, though, said he isn’t so sure.

“Memorials don’t really solve the problems most (members) of the veteran community are facing,” he said.

He said that while many people express their support for the troops serving overseas, pointing to the ubiquitous yellow ribbons on cars, they don’t always remember that service members also need support after they take the uniform off. And memorials don’t always make a difference.

“I’ll probably get hate mail for this, but I have some very strong feelings about that,” he said. “I don’t think eliminating the effort (to create memorials) is what I’m advocating. I think, if given my druthers, I’d like to have resources spent on services.”

Sisters City Councilor Merrill, 70, an Army veteran who also served in Vietnam, was more blunt.

“Once you’re dead, you’re dead,” he said. “You’re not going to look at a rock.”

He said he doesn’t question the motives of people who want to create memorials or rename landmarks after fallen troops. But he said it shouldn’t stop there.

“You want to honor a veteran, help those that are alive. Help those that need it,” he said. “What about their families when they’re gone? Who’s helping them out?”

But Gehweiler pointed out that the appreciation and recognition a memorial provides is sometimes important for veterans, mentally and emotionally.

“I think veterans don’t really ask to be appreciated, but I think it’s important they are acknowledged and appreciated without having to ask,” he said. “For their own personal, psychological well-being, I think that’s a good thing.”

Tobiason agreed.

“What’s a sign cost? Twenty-five dollars,” he said. “So some veteran can say, ‘My nation cares.’”

Area memorials

Bend

Redmond

La Pine

Sisters

Sunriver area

Madras

Terrebonne area

Prineville

• Plaque, flag and markers at Deschutes Memorial Gardens

• VFW plaque, Deschutes County Courthouse

• Veterans Memorial Bridge and Randy Newman Memorial Walkway, Newport Avenue

• Redmond Memorial Cemetery marker

• Veterans Way

• Cal Butler Veterans Memorial Parkway, part of Airport Way

• La Pine cemetery marker

• Plaque and flag, Veterans Memorial Park

• Plaque, Village Green Park (unfinished)

• Robert D. Maxwell Veterans Memorial Bride, South Century Drive

• Camp Abbot plaques and photographs, Sunriver Resort Great Hall

• Plaque and flags, Mt. Jefferson Memorial Cemetery

• Marker, Friendship Park, Madras

• Blue Star Memorial Highway plaque, junction of U.S. highways 97 and 26

• Rex T. Barber Veterans Memorial Bridge, U.S. Highway 97

• Desert Storm/Desert Shield marker, Ochoco Creek Park

• Plaque, flag and marker for unknown soldier, Juniper Haven Cemetery

• Flag and marker, Crook County Courthouse