Just about 30 minutes from downtown Savannah is a sleepy little burg called Springfield, GA. it’s a small community consisting of a main street with a handful of storefronts, a 25-bed hospital, a county jail, and a lot of farmland. Slowly but surely, Springfield is stretching and trying to attract industry, such as the 2010 addition of Efacec, a Portuguese manufacturer that makes power transformers. One of the surprises I’ve discovered in the area was the Veterans Park. Given that there is a high concentration of military in the tri-county real estate market, it wasn’t a surprise to find monuments or sites honoring veterans. However, Effingham County’s Veterans Park did hold a few items I didn’t expect.
For example, there were monuments dedicated to wounded veterans, MIA/POWs, and many of the unsung support for armed conflict such as the merchant marines who ferried supplies to various theatres of war. Peacekeepers were also honored. The entire Park is lovely, with a beautiful lake, lots of places to sit and consider, all nestled within a wooded vista that is calm and peaceful. In many veteran-honoring displays, one would expect to see tributes to local fallen soldiers from recent combat, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and the World Wars. These were there as expected, with names inscribed on a large curved wall. However, Effingham County didn’t stop there. Tributes were included for Effingham County soldiers from the Spanish-American War, Civil War, and the American Revolution. In walking along the wall, I felt the pull and weight of history. I recognized family surnames that are still present in Effingham.
If you’re ever in the area, the Park is worth a few minutes.
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