Stark County unveils battlefield cross, 'witness tree' at courthouse for veterans

CANTON ‒ A new sign has been posted outside the Stark County Courthouse to acknowledge an old reality: Soldiers die in wars and after wars.

The memorial depicts a battlefield cross: a fallen soldier's rifle stuck into the soldier's boots, with a helmet on top.

Ohio Gratings Inc. donated the sign, which debuted at the third annual "witness tree" ceremony Tuesday in front of the courthouse. The small flowering pear was transformed into a witness tree by the addition of dog tags representing veterans who died by suicide.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn L. Heath said the witness tree ceremony's purpose is "to remind us, and raise awareness, that we have an obligation and duty to not only welcome our veterans home, but also to carry the responsibility of their sacrifice, and in many instances, their suffering. Twenty-two veterans, on average, will take their life today. Many return, but are not home, and in need of a community to protect them."

Local organizations that serve veterans had sought a battlefield cross sign for years without success until about five weeks ago. The interested parties included staff and volunteers of Stark County Honor Court. Heath oversees Honor Court, which offers veterans an alternative to criminal charges and incarceration through mentoring and diversion programming,

In September, Marine veteran Michael Myers, an Honor Court volunteer, had an inspiration while working as an assistant press weld operator at Ohio Gratings in Perry Township. He approached his supervisor, Brett Jinks, with a request for a metal sign, despite only working there for a brief time. As a fellow veteran himself, Jinks loved the idea.

Within two weeks, the design was finished. When Myers showed the photo to his group of fellow Honor Court volunteers, several broke down in tears, he said in a prepared statement.

“It was something we knew we could accomplish, we just didn’t know when," he said. "I don’t think I can convey how many people were touched by this gift from Ohio Gratings. They stepped up in such a huge way. It was far beyond anything we expected. It was the biggest win. OGI chose to be the solution."

"At Ohio Gratings, we believe that good things come at a cost," John Bartley, president and CEO of Ohio Gratings, wrote in an email. "Without the sacrifice and service of our nation’s military heroes, we would not enjoy the freedoms that we have today."

Ohio Gratings’ Chief Business Officer Shaun Eller said in a prepared statement that the company was honored to be part of the project.

“We’re honored to play a small part in anything we can do to help our veterans, especially in light of suicide prevention and mental health," Eller said. "It’s such a challenging problem in front of so many vets. This is just a small token of our gratitude for their service, and an opportunity to give something back.”

For Myers, his involvement in the project is personal.

“I’m just extremely proud to be a part of it," he said. "When I was released from the Marine Corps, there were eight years where nothing made sense. The help I received from my local Veterans Affairs Center, it literally saved my life, period. There’s no other way to look at it. And I wanted to stay in that community and give back.

“Until we have zero lives lost, we’re not done. These guys won a war, then came back home, and are losing it here. It’s not for lack of caring. It’s the stigma with mental health. Individuals don’t know where to go, where to turn, or where to get help. A lot of times it leads to circumstances that only escalate. That’s where the Honor Court helps. We personalize a plan for them.

“I lost my best friend to suicide," he added. "And the one thing that I wish I could have told him was he wasn’t alone. He never fought that battle by himself. We were there. And if he would’ve reached out, there were so many things available to him. We don’t fight alone. We never fight alone.”

Before participants hung dog tags on the tree at the ceremony, Heath read this reflection from the late Austrian poet and author Rainer Maria Rilke: "Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answers."

Ceremonies will continue at noon each day at the witness tree through Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

If you need help

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The following resources also are available any time of day:

Stark County Crisis Hotline: 330-452-6000

Crisis Text Line: text ‘4hope’ to 741-741

Trevor Project Lifeline for LGBTQ youth: 866-488-7386

Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860

CommQuest Detox at Aultman Hospital: 330-830-3393

Learn how to make your home a “Safe Home” by removing unnecessary risks for substance abuse and suicide at starkmhar.org/prevention-resources/safe-home.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County honors veterans with battlefield cross, witness tree