Those of you who travel the Interstate 4 corridor on a regular basis may recall a monument made in the likeness of the Washington D.C. Iwo Jima Memorial located on the west bound side in the vicinity of Lakeland. And if you are a very observant person, perhaps you have noticed that it is no longer there. Why was it there and where did it go?

The Monument was placed there by Bob Pipping, a U.S. Navy Veteran of WWII. In 1984, he had it designed and built by Felix DeWeldon, the man who designed and made the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA. On its completion in 1988 he placed it on his property along I4, for all to see, as a tribute to honor all veterans living and deceased. Since the death of Bob Pipping in the early 90's, Sgt. Larry McLaughlin, USMC and a few other dedicated Veterans had been taking care of the memorial. When the State bought the property along I4 they were informed that the Monument had to be removed or be trashed. They decided to save it, remove it, restore it and find a new home for it. All of which are easier said than done. But the Veterans have come through. The group was able to obtain the Memorial, move it of the right of way, restore it and get legislation passed in Tallahassee to have the Memorial and others like it placed at one of the many rest stops along Florida's interstate highways. In the mean time, the Memorial rests at the Fantasy of Flight in Polk City.

Of course, all this takes money. Considering the expenses involved to see a project like this through, fund raising has become an on going project in itself. A while back, 18 February to be exact, a fund raising activity was held at the Fantasy of Flight Aircraft Museum grounds in Polk City. The FFC was asked to provide a display of vehicles. Central Region Coordinator, Charles Hildebrant, got right on it and lined up several vehicles to attend.

This activity brought together several Veterans Groups as well as local politicians, the media, many former Marines, all with one goal in mind. Raise the money to get the job done! There were speeches, a memorial ceremony, drill team demonstrations, plenty of food, door prizes, and a dozen vehicles on display.

Surprisingly enough, not all the military vehicles there were provided by the FFC. And not all the vehicles were of the military type. At the front of the line up was a "Semper Fi" 2003 Ford Ranger Pickup Truck belonging to Gunny Sergeant Bill Hunter. Bill had the truck tricked out in USMC colors as a tribute to the men and women of the Marine Corps. Former FFC Member and past FFC President, Charles Brown and his wife Zonna were there with their 1942 Dodge Command Car and a nice display of WWII weaponry. Don Huffman displayed a nice 1942 Harley Davidson WLA. Diane Deren immediately signed him up! Welcome to our group Don. Two other vehicle owners added to the display. They were Danny and Anna Ballard with a 1985 CUCV and Vince To with a 1972 AM General M45A2 Fire Truck and a 1963 Johnson Furnace M332 Ammo Trailer. Vince helped store the Memorial when it was first moved off the right of way. In addition, visiting MVPA Member, Earl Kulpa, stopped by to introduce himself.

Completing the picture were the First Florida Chapter vehicles in the line up: Bob Bishop with his 1968 M151A1, Ken Cosgrove with his 1942 GPW, David Borders with his 1953 M38A1, Steve Lassiter with his 1945 MB, Larry Kremer with his 1978 HMMWV and Dick and Diane Deren with their 1944 MB.

Click here to see photos from the fundraiser.