Powell Cemetery will get an eight-foot granite memorial honoring veterans buried in unknown or unmarked graves, funded entirely by the Delaware County Veterans Service Commission at no cost to the city.

Powell City Council approved the agreement 6-0 on July 21, authorizing City Manager Andrew White to sign an intergovernmental deal with the commission for the "Unmarked but Unforgotten" memorial. The commission is providing $100,000 for the project.

The vote was unanimous.

"All veterans need to be recognized while they are alive and passed," William Piwtorak, deputy director of Delaware County Veterans Services, told council at the July 21 meeting.

Jon Bennehoof, chair of the Powell Veterans Advisory Committee and a member of the countywide Unmarked but Unforgotten Committee, told council that Powell Cemetery holds veterans from every American conflict from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War. The memorial, he said, is for those who may or may not have a headstone or whose burial site is unknown.

The design, called "Picture This On Granite," was chosen from an open competition that closed in August 2025. It features a laser-etched image of a Revolutionary War soldier doffing his cap to a saluting present-day soldier, dated 1776–2026, on a black granite tablet with bronze military insignias.

Powell and Sunbury both had representatives on a joint design-review committee and selected the same concept. Sunbury City Council heard a second reading Aug. 19 on a nearly identical $100,000 agreement for a matching memorial at Sunbury Cemetery on West Cherry Street, Delaware Source reported Aug. 27. The city of Delaware sat on the committee but chose a different design: a sculpture by artist Alan Cottrill. Delaware City Council has not yet acted on its own agreement.

White told council the commission recently identified available county funds for municipal cemeteries in Powell, Sunbury and Delaware. Piwtorak said the commission is authorized up to $125,000 for the project.

The Delaware County Veterans Services and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) coordinate the program across the county. The Sunbury agreement anticipates completion in 2026, though neither city has announced a dedication date.

Vice Mayor Tom Counts said at the July 21 meeting that he "absolutely loves the artwork that was suggested."

Residents with questions can contact the Delaware County Veterans Service Office at 91 N. Sandusky St., Delaware, or call 740-833-2010.