HARRISBURG — 242 Saline County residents have lost their lives serving our country and have their final resting place at Sunset Lawn Cemetery in Harrisburg. The city of Harrisburg is putting the final touches on a project to honor those men and women that only a handful of other communities across the country have done.

The city has modeled an area of the cemetery like Arlington National Cemetery, with 242 crosses all lined up to honor each of those service members. It is the only “Little Arlington” in the state, and believed to be one of only about 10 across the United States.

Sunset Lawn Cemetery Manager Jacob Palmer has been working on bringing the monument to life. He says honoring soldiers at the cemetery started in the 1930’s, but was not kept up over time. He’s proud to say he’s helping to rebuild the monument for area veterans.

Don Cooper is a Korean War veteran and approaching 90-years-old. He recently went on an honor flight to Washington D.C., and what he saw in Arlington is why he’s so proud to see this project nearly finished in Harrisburg.

Palmer says the project will be done by the city’s Memorial Day service that is still planned for May 25th.