Local
Cecil Field memorial project advances with volunteer landscaping work
About 75 volunteers worked this week on the first phase of a planned National POW/MIA Memorial at Jacksonville’s former NAS Cecil Field. A future 20-acre site is intended to include a hall recognizing more than 81,000 service members missing in action, but the project’s timeline depends on donations and a House resolution.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — About 75 volunteers gathered at the former NAS Cecil Field this week to help build a memorial honoring prisoners of war and service members missing in action, advancing the first phase of a larger project on Jacksonville’s Westside.
The group used shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows for landscaping work. Volunteers included members of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association, active-duty Marines and students with Future Farmers of America. The effort came weeks ahead of Veterans Day.
The work underway focuses on Cecil Field’s history as a military installation, which operated from World War II through 1999, said Ed Turner, executive director of the National POW/MIA Memorial. It is one of four planned phases.
A 20-acre area behind the current work site is intended to house the national memorial, including a hall listing more than 81,000 military members missing in action. Turner said the plans depend on passage of a House resolution.
The hall is envisioned as a place where relatives can find the names of missing family members and veterans can remember those they served alongside, Turner said.
The project relies entirely on donations, including plants, trees, equipment and volunteer labor as well as money. Brylee Wood, a 12th grader at Oakleaf High School, said she joined the landscaping effort after a teacher invited her. Wood said her family’s visits to memorials helped make taking part important to her.
The first phase is expected to be finished by the end of 2026. Organizers have not set a timeline for the full project, which will depend on available funding.