Callaway County soldier honored with monument

After a year of work, a monument to honor a Callaway County soldier killed in Kuwait will be erected at the end of the month.

The monument to honor Spc. Charles P. McClure will be placed in the New Bloomfield Park, near City Hall, on Thursday.

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Judy Pertle, from left, as Mother Nature helps Lilian Hanlon, 4, and her sister Vivian Hanlon sort material Saturday to use to build bird nests at the Hobbs State Park Visitors Center near Rogers. The center was also sponsoring a kayak workshop on Beaver Lake and a nature photography class on the Pigeon Roost Trail.

An unveiling ceremony and celebration will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 30 with guest speakers and live music.

McClure, who attended elementary and middle school in New Bloomfield, was killed May 2, 2013, in a vehicle accident while serving in the Army. He was 21.

McClure was born Jan. 8, 1992, in Neosho. He moved around as a child, growing up in the Plato and Cabool areas before coming to New Bloomfield.

McClure entered the Army on Nov. 1, 2011, completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood. He was deployed to Kuwait, where he served in the 4th Battalion of the 42nd Field Artillery Regiment. He earned the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Global War on Terror Service Medal and an Army Service Ribbon.

McClure’s mother, Karrie Sandfort, said the monument was donated by Flags for Freedom Outreach, a group based in Lake Ozark that found the family on Facebook.

“The monument is built in Georgia and then transported here,” Sandfort said. “It’s made of black granite. It will have his name and his picture on it. We got approval from the city to put it in the park. That way there will be a security camera on it 24 hours a day.”

Sandfort said Charles was adopted when he was three, and she will always consider him her baby.

“Even though he died at 21, he lived a couple of life times with all the experiences he had,” she said. “Failure was never an option, and he always wanted to be an Army guy. He followed his dream and planned to be a career Army man.

“There were a lot of sleepless nights, but we got through it,” Sandfort added. “He turned out to be a great man, and we will always be proud of him.”