In a well-attended ceremony Wednesday, the East Side Business Association and American Legion Post 5 dedicated the patriotic roundabouts on the east side of Jefferson City.
The two organizations held a Raise the Flag ceremony near the roundabout closest to Walmart on Supercenter Drive. The ceremony dedicated the two roundabouts at the intersection of U.S. 50 and East McCarty Street.
The organizations partnered to add patriotic displays to the two east-side roundabouts.
The north roundabout contains a 6-foot-tall eagle statue on top of a black granite pedestal, with the words "courage, valor, service and sacrifice" etched into the granite.
"Those four words - courage, valor, service and sacrifice - they mean a lot to me, and I hope to instill that into some of the youth that needs to think about serving," past ESBA President Hank Stratman said.
At the south roundabout, a 40-foot-tall flagpole stands tall, with a pentagon-shaped monument containing patriotic messages at the base of the pole. An American flag, as well as a prisoner of war and missing in action flag, flew from the top of the pole.
"Every time I drive by them, I'm going to cry," Dee Dee Mehmert-Cryderman said, looking up at the flagpole.
American Legion Post 5 member Don Cryderman added: "This is not about me, this is not about us. This is about the veterans; it's about patriotism and everything the flag stands for."
This was the first time an entity adopted a roundabout as part of the Missouri Department of Transportation's Adopt a Highway program, said David Silvester, district engineer for the MoDOT Central District.
To MoDOT officials' knowledge, these are also the first roundabouts in Missouri that have patriotic themes, Silvester added.
Several businesses and individuals donated materials, services and money toward the project, including Twehous Excavation Company, Midwest Block & Brick, All Seasons Landscaping and Walmart Corporation.
In a surprise announcement Wednesday, a representative of Meyer Electric said the company would not bill ESBA or the American Legion post for the services it provided.
Phillips 66 Petroleum also donated $10,000 to ESBA on Tuesday for the roundabouts.
"The community made it happen," Mehmert-Cryderman said. "It's awesome to see people walking up that sidewalk to look at (the roundabouts)."
Several local, county and state representatives attended the ceremony, including state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, who was the keynote speaker.
"It is my hope, with this flag, we raise awareness of the importance of our veterans and the service members and the sacrifices they have made for us," he said. "While we can never really, truly repay them for this service, I hope this project helps show our appreciation."
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, also a Republican from Jefferson City, said the patriotic roundabouts were "a fantastic effort by our community."
"Our community continues to come together, whether it's through disasters that we've had like the tornado or to honor both our veterans and our men and women who are serving and, in this case, our country," said Kehoe, who donated a flag for the roundabout.
While the roundabout displays pay tribute to military service members and veterans, Stratman said, the project is also about "promoting, supporting and defending our Constitution."
"This is about getting the word out to the millennial and the (younger generations) because since we've been a volunteer force, there are less and less citizens who serve and less propensity to serve, and we need to change that," said Stratman, who is a military veteran. "Not that we need more, but we need the best and the brightest to consider a career in the Armed Forces."