Two of a kind: Sunbury to join Powell in erecting veterans memorial at city cemetery

SUNBURY — What’s better than one “Unmarked but Unforgotten” monument memorializing veterans in Delaware County? Two.

In July, Powell City Council approved the construction of a statue at Powell Cemetery honoring unmarked Revolutionary War veterans’ graves located throughout the county.

Now, Sunbury City Council is following suit. Council heard a second reading on Aug. 19 for an agreement with the Delaware County Veterans Service Commission to fund construction of the memorial.

The agreement is nearly identical to Powell’s.

That’s because the two entities are both involved in the “Unmarked But Unforgotten” program — a veterans memorial initiative spanning Delaware County.

The Delaware County Veteran Services and the Daughters of the American Revolution are the main coordinators of the program.

The goal of the program is to honor American soldiers with an unknown or unmarked grave.

“All veterans need to be recognized while they’re alive and while they’re passed,” Deputy Director of Veterans Services Bill Piwtorak previously told Powell City Council.

Through the program, the Delaware County Veterans Service Commission provides the funding for the installation of the memorial, which will cost $100,000.

Both Sunbury and Powell had representatives on a joint design-review committee to select the memorial’s look from an open-design competition that closed in August 2025.

Both selected the “Picture This On Granite” concept, which depicts a laser-etched image of a Revolutionary War soldier doffing his cap to a saluting present-day soldier, dated 1776–2026, on an eight-foot tall black granite tablet.

Sunbury’s memorial will sit in the Sunbury Cemetery, located at West Cherry Street.

The city of Delaware was also on the committee, but opted for a different design: a sculpture by artist Alan Cottrill. Delaware City Council has not yet heard or approved an agreement with the Veterans Service Commission.

Sunbury’s agreement does not specify a completion date, but it does note completion in 2026.

The agreement also deems the city responsible for coordinating construction of any “potential optional future features,” with flagpoles, benches, concrete, walkways, electrical service, kiosks and signage listed as examples.