Intense eagle eyes stare down from on high, guarding the battlefield memorial of a fallen soldier. Yet the tableau is not on a distant battlefield, but at a memorial in Conifer that’s being dedicated to veterans everywhere.
Rich Krupicka of Conifer and his veteran's memorial carving entitled, Covered With Glory. The carving will be dedicated at noon Nov. 11 at the Mountain Resource Center in Conifer. Krupicka created the carving as a memorial to all those who have sacrificed their lives for peace.
The memorial, created for the Conifer Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12009, will be unveiled at noon Nov. 11 at the Mountain Resource Center, 11030 Kitty Drive. The artist, Richard Krupicka of Conifer, carved the wooden memorial as a testament to veterans everywhere. The carving is titled “Covered with Glory.”
“This is my interpretation of honor,” Krupicka said. “It’s for all the soldiers, men and women in all the wars.”
The memorial bears a plaque honoring all who have sacrificed to serve, and especially one special person in Krupicka’s life: his father, 1st Lt. Norman L. Krupicka, who died two years ago.
The memorial is about 10 feet tall, with an eagle with spread wings poised over an American flag, army boots, rifle and helmet.
Conifer VFW Post 12009’s new commander, Kenny Cressler of Bailey, said the memorial is an important sign of respect, and all fallen soldiers should, at the very least, receive this type of field memorial.
“It was awesome. It makes you want to cry. It’s more than you would have expected,” Cressler said.
Cressler said the sculpture, featuring an M-16 rifle, helmet and boots, “is something you would do for your buddies … before you kept going.”
The sculpture will stay at the MRC, but when Post 12009 finds a permanent home, the memorial will be moved there. Currently, Post 12009 meets at Beaver Ranch. Cressler said a lot of veterans live along the 285 Corridor, and many local residents have lost friends and family members in various wars. He hopes that someday family members of fallen soldiers will leave dog tags at the sculpture as a sign of remembrance and respect.
Krupicka has been carving images from wood for about 12 years with dexterous swipes of a chainsaw and taps from a variety of hand tools. His work has graced many homes and businesses in the mountain area, but the veterans memorial is near and dear to his heart.
“It was an inspirational piece that I really wanted to do,” Krupicka said.
The memorial is made of a Ponderosa pine from the Evergreen area, and a large fork in the treetop was destined to become eagle wings, said Krupicka. He’s made other carvings from the tree, but the top was earmarked for the VFW memorial.
Krupicka guesses the sculpture weighs 500 pounds, and it’s painted with oil paint and protected with a wood sealer. The memorial will last forever, Krupicka said, if it’s cared for and occasionally re-sealed and oiled.
“It means something to me. People can draw emotion from it,” he said. “Sometimes I think people forget about (veterans’) sacrifices, but I know a lot of people who appreciate what they’ve done.”
Elk Creek Elementary School will host a Veterans Day celebration at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 11. Conifer VFW Post 12009 will open the ceremony with a presentation of the flags, and students will perform.
This story ran in the November 2, 2010 edition of the High Timber Times
No comments:
Post a Comment