We are proud of our ongoing commitment to honor the courageous Veterans of our community whose sacrifices have safeguarded our freedoms. We extend a heartfelt invitation to our entire community to stand with us in paying tribute to these remarkable individuals, whose bravery and service inspires us.
This memorial continues our community’s rich heritage of honoring persons from Derry Township who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The original Court of Honor was dedicated on November 7, 1943, at the Hershey Community Center across Cocoa Avenue from this site. On September 20, 1947, two bronze plaques bearing the names of 1,238 Derry Township “Defenders of America” were dedicated to replacing the original frames, which contained 864 names. On Memorial Day,1982, the bronze plaques were rededicated and supplemented at the Cocoa Avenue Plaza. The new Veterans Memorial at the southwest corner of Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue(s) will include illuminated Gold Stars acknowledging the brave sons and daughters of Derry Township families and the brave children from the Milton Hershey School family who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our Country. It will also feature flags from all the U.S. Armed Forces.
This project is slated to be out for bid on May 9th. We anticipate awarding a contract to the winning bidder on June 11th and intend to have the project substantially completed for Veterans Day 2024.
Renderings of the proposed Veterans Memorial are available here.
Overview of Veterans Memorial at Chocolate Town Square Park.
Overview of the entrance of the Veterans Memorial at Chocolate Town Square Park.
Overview of the Gold Stars Veterans Memorial honoring our brave soldiers of Derry Township and Milton Hershey, as well as the original Veteran plaques.
Overview of the outdoor concert stage.
If you wish to make a donation to support the Veterans Memorial initiative, you may contact Derry Township at 717-533-2057 or email Rebecca Sweigart at rlsweiga@derrytownship.org.
