WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
The City of Mount Vernon officially dedicated the new “Let Freedom Ring Blue Star Family Bell Circle” Wednesday morning, celebrating military families whose sacrifices help preserve the nation’s freedoms.
The ceremony, held at American Heritage Park, brought together city leaders, state officials, veterans, military families and community members as the city unveiled the interactive public art installation just days before Independence Day.
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers reflected on the significance of the dedication, noting it took place exactly 250 years after the Continental Congress voted for American independence.
“So as we dedicate the Let Freedom Ring Blue Star Family Bell Circle, we honor not only the freedoms secured in 1776, but also the military families whose sacrifice and strength and service have preserved those freedoms across two and a half centuries,” Salyers said.
Mayor Matt Starr reminded those in attendance that Blue Star Families include more than the service members themselves.
“A Blue Star family is a family with a loved one currently serving in the United States Armed Forces,” Starr said. “It represents a family at home—the parents, the spouses, the children, the siblings and the loved ones who carry the waiting, the worries, the prayers and the pride.”
One of the ceremony’s most heartfelt speeches came from Mount Vernon Middle School Principal and National Guard member Darren Prince, who spoke both as a soldier and as the father of a Blue Star family.
“When a service member is deployed, the spouse who stays behind must become the literal rock of the family,” Prince said. “They are the unshakable foundation holding that home together—not because they want to be, but because they have to be.”
Prince also praised the Mount Vernon City School District’s support of military families, noting that six of the district’s eight schools have earned Ohio’s Purple Star designation for serving military-connected students.
The monument itself was created by Michigan artist Tom Kaufman using recycled welding and oxygen tanks transformed into 41 individually tuned bells. As visitors walk around the circular installation and strike each bell, the notes combine to play “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee,” symbolizing the collective sacrifices of military families and the communities that support them.
Following the dedication, attendees were invited to ring the bells for themselves and learn more about Knox County’s America 250 celebrations. City leaders said they hope the monument will serve as a lasting place of reflection, remembrance and gratitude for generations to come.
