(Photo by Amber Phipps) A family member places one of the newly engraved veteran bricks into the pathway during the Veterans Walk of Honor Brick Placement Ceremony on Saturday.

There were 21 new bricks installed at the biannual Veterans Walk of Honor Brick Placement Ceremony on Saturday. In honor of Veterans Day on Tuesday, the Armory Square Inc. hosted the event with nearly 50 people in attendance.

“It’s our way to commemorate and memorialize the service of our local veterans,” said Armory Square Inc. President and former Marietta Mayor Michael “Moon” Mullen. “This is a welcoming space.”

Anyone who purchases a brick through the Armory Square Inc., which is engraved with a veteran’s name and service information, has the opportunity to place that brick in the Veterans Walk of Honor memorial on Front Street.

The brick installment ceremony takes place twice a year on the Saturday before Veterans and Memorial Day.

“We probably started with a couple hundred bricks and it’s just been evolving every year,” he said. “We’ll probably put in about 40 to 50 bricks this year.”

(Photo by Amber Phipps) A brick installment crew with the Armory Square Inc. replaces old bricks with newly engraved bricks that include a veteran's name and information.

Mullen said they’ve made substantial upgrades this year with a new location system on the website. The system is an online grid which allows families of veterans to easily locate their brick in the memorial. With so many new bricks added each year, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to locate a veteran brick.

“The brick locator tool gives folks an opportunity to find where friends and family are located among these thousands of bricks,” he said.

Using AI and drones, Mullen said they were able to create quadrants through the collected images. Each quadrant is marked with a letter and a number which makes finding a brick easier than it had been in the past.

Families and friends at the ceremony were pleased with the new upgrades which also included bricks with more defined name engravings.

Washington County Veterans Service Office Executive Director Darren Shearlock spoke at the ceremony.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) A gingko leaf rests on the bricks at the Veterans Walk of Honor memorial during the Brick Placement Ceremony on Saturday.

“As we reflect on these names, the new ones we add today and the many already etched in stone, I can’t help but think about the larger meaning of Veterans Day itself,” he said.

Shearlock served over 20 years in the U.S. Army and said Veterans Day is a very important day for him and many others. As the executive director at the veterans service office, he spends every day helping those who have served and are in need of resources.

“If you’re a veteran or you have a veteran in your family, send them to my office so we can make sure they’re getting everything they’re entitled to because they’ve done so much for us,” he said. “We want to make sure they’re taken care of.”

There are plans for the future of the Veterans Walk of Honor to transform the large, sandstone rock on the corner of the site into a running water fountain.

Mullen said they will be working on the transformation in the coming years by replacing the old pumps and motors.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Attendees at the biannual Veterans Walk of Honor Brick Placement Ceremony enjoy refreshments and snacks like apple cider and cookies on Saturday.

Even though about 90% of the bricks are local residents, there isn’t a requirement for the name on the brick to be from or living in the area.

Mullen said some people who moved to the area have installed bricks in honor of their family members who served.

For those interested in purchasing a brick, visit the Armory on Front Street or go to the Armory Square Marietta Ohio Facebook page.

To locate a brick visit https://armorysquaremariettaohio.com/

(Photo by Amber Phipps) The Veterans Walk of Honor brick locator which is an online tool recently launched to make finding a veteran brick easier. Visit https://armorysquaremariettaohio.com/ to locate a brick.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Old bricks are removed from the pathway to be replaced by new bricks that are engraved with veterans’ names and service information at the Veterans Walk of Honor memorial on Saturday.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Washington County Veterans Service Office Executive Director Darren Shearlock speaks to the audience at the Veterans Walk of Honor Brick Placement ceremony Saturday.