Construction has begun on the Gold Star Family Memorial outside the new Orem City Center.
The memorial will honor gold star families, the immediate families of military members who died in the line of duty.
Orem City Council member Jeff Lambson has been involved in the project. His Uncle Bill died while serving in World War II, making Lambson's father’s family a gold star family.
Lambson said the project holds a special place in his heart because of his family history.
“I don’t know how to say this other than I feel more connected to my uncle that I never met… I feel like this is something that he would be grateful for, proud of,” Lambson said.
He said he hopes the memorial will be a place of learning and sacred remembrance for the community. This is the first gold star memorial in Utah Valley.
Rodney Gardner is the commander for American Legion Post 72, Orem’s veterans service organization.
“As they say, freedom is not free. Millions of lives have been spent so we can have freedom,” Gardner said.
The post donated $4,000 for the memorial in 2023.
“It was an honor to do that. We did have to tighten our belts for a few months because we contributed about all we had, but it was well worth it,” Gardner said.
Orem has been taking donations for the project for more than two years. Heather Cox, the fundraising lead for the project, said the group is less than halfway to its $250,000 goal.
Cox said they expected to receive more donations for the cause, but noted the memorial will feature a donor wall listing the names of contributors and their donation amounts.
Allan Anderson, 94, is a veteran and member of Post 72. He knows several gold star families.
He hopes the memorial will “show to them that somebody is remembering them and has the same feelings that they do."
There will be an opening ceremony for the monument after Memorial Day, which Gardner and Anderson plan to attend.
“It makes you sit down and think a little bit about what these people gave and what it's all about,” Anderson said.
The city is still taking donations for the memorial. More information is available on the Orem Community Foundation website.