(WMOK) Metropolis, IL – On Thursday afternoon portion number two of a three-part project to honor John Marvin Steel was put in place as Metropolis Mayor Don Canada and Sainte Mere Eglise Mayor Alain Holley joined together on the steps of the Metropolis City Hall amid many local attendees and local officials to sign the Sister City Signing between Metropolis and Sainte Mere Eglise.
Steele is one of several that the Heroes of Massac Endeavors group hopes to recognize locally.
Steele’s experiences are detailed in The Longest Day, a1959 book by Cornelius Ryan telling the story of D-Day the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy.
When the “Home of John Marvin Steele” sign (first phase of the project) was placed on the East End entering Metropolis in November of 2022, WMOK had an opportunity to speak with Vicki Mayhall, one of the organizers of the group at which time she told us about the next phases of the project.
Pvt. John Marvin Steele Sign Unveiled in Metropolis Illinois on Veterans Day —>Hear our discussion —>https://soundcloud.com/…/vicki-mayhall-sign-unveiling…The second phase of the project was the sister city agreement with the city of Sainte-Mère-Église. We’ll bring you more coverage of that from home and abroad soon.
The third phase of the project will be the placement of a John Marvin Steel statue on the Massac County Courthouse Lawn.
The base of the statue will feature the story of Steele’s Sainte-Mere-Eglise landing as well as a list of names honoring those from Massac County who lost their lives during WW2.
The organizers have been overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and interest for the project from Metropolis residents past & present as well as from WW2 historians from other areas.
Fundraisers are currently being planned to help fund the project. Grants are being sought as well. The group has already received submissions from potential sculptors and the committee hopes to start the selection process very soon as well as finalize the design of the Steele Statue and WW2 Memorial.
Just this week the Massac County Commissioners discussed the statue on WMOK’s Coffee Break program. Hear our discussion in the Soundcloud player below:
Updates can be found on the groups Facebook page: John Marvin Steele Memorial Project.
Donations are being accepted and may be sent to: John Steele Memorial City National Bank, Attn Debbie Hillebrand, P.O. Box 380, Metropolis, IL 62960.
Comments