ARCHBALD — A monumental mission is underway on Kennedy Drive.

A 12-foot-tall black granite obelisk topped with a bronze bald eagle and flanked by smaller black granite markers commemorating each branch of the United States Armed Forces now stands guard at the upcoming Archbald Borough Veterans Monument Park on Kennedy Drive. The installation of the monuments represents another milestone in the $1.5 million project dedicated to honoring U.S. veterans living and deceased, joining an M163 Vulcan Air Defense System and an M60 Patton tank, which members of the Pennsylvania National Guard delivered to the park in September. The park also added a large wooden pavilion earlier this year.

Crews finished installing the obelisk and markers late last month, although one of the six markers — the Air Force marker — was blemished and had to be reordered, said Ret. Army Major Rob Turlip, who is also the chairman of the park committee. The new Air Force monument likely won’t be ready until the spring, Turlip said.

The markers are inscribed with, “All Gave Some, Some Gave All.”

Turlip hopes to finish the park by the summer, though it is dependent on receiving funding to cover the $1.5-million project’s remaining $287,000. To offset that, the park committee is seeking additional grants, and it continues to sell black granite tiles that will someday line a sprawling wall bearing the names, photos and service information of hundreds of veterans, living and deceased.

Now nearly a decade in the making, the park has navigated multiple challenges, from funding-related redesigns to a contractor abruptly shutting down and requiring work to be re-bid.

They haven’t had any huge challenges since construction began, though, Turlip said.

“We’re really happy that it’s progressing, and it’s progressing very nicely,” he said.

The veterans park project launched in 2016, and Lockheed Martin donated 2 acres on Kennedy Drive across from Maria Boulevard for its construction.

The park’s most notable monument will be its veterans wall, which Turlip said will have 420 tiles broken up into 10 sections, though they have room to add more if they needed. Previously, the wall was slated to have closer to 500 tiles, but organizers configured it a bit differently, Turlip said. In addition to the newly installed monuments, pavilion, wall, Vulcan and M60 tank, other park features will include multiple bronze statues made through partnerships with Keystone College and later Marywood University, a 50-foot by 50-foot keystone, flagpoles, granite benches and additional pieces of military equipment.

The monument park committee recently decided on a final design for a statue dedicated to honoring female veterans, working with with Marywood professor of sculpture Stephen Colley, who sculpted and cast the project’s other statues with his students at Keystone and later Marywood. The newest statue will be a Vietnam era nurse rendering aid to a wounded soldier, Turlip said. The other statues either completed, underway or planned for the park are a kneeling soldier with a K-9; the soldier’s battle cross, which is a rifle, combat boots and a helmet; the “No Man Left Behind,” which is a soldier rescuing a pilot; and a gunner and observer. The kneeling soldier is done, Turlip hopes to have the “No Man Left Behind” ready to be installed in the spring, and the next statue to prioritize is the women’s monument.

Lockheed Martin also giving the park a Black Hawk helicopter, and Turlip said he’s discussing other potential items to display from Lockheed. The park will additionally have a Quad .50 — another anti-aircraft weapon whose name comes from its four .50-caliber machine guns — that is almost done being restored, he said. Boy Scouts and Camp Freedom in Canaan Twp. are restoring the Quad .50, he said.

The next phase of work will be adding the flagpoles and large keystone, but exactly when that happens depends on the weather this year, Turlip said. Then, the plaques will be added to the monument wall, followed by sidewalks and pads for statues, he said. Other work includes adding a parking lot, lighting for the parking lot and landscaping, some of which is underway with arborvitaes already planted around more than half the park, he said.

Turlip noted the significance of completing the project, especially in light of five park committee members who have passed away and will be honored on the wall.

“We have a good core of people that have been sticking it out with us,” he said.

He envisions someday using the park for Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day ceremonies, as well as hosting other functions, like the start of a veteran’s ride.

“It’s a great tribute to hour veterans,” Turlip said. “It’s going to be really beautiful when it’s done.”

To order a tile for the veterans wall, call Turlip at 570-877-2338. Tiles are 18 by 12 inches, cost $550 each and are designed by appointment.