A ceremony dedicated to fallen veterans will be held at the new Veterans Memorial at Bouligny Plaza Monday starting at 6 p.m.

After years of effort by the Iberia Veterans Association, a veterans memorial commemorating the lives of local residents who fought in foreign wars will now be immortalized in Bouligny Plaza.

The veterans memorial has been in construction for almost a year following New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt’s decision to assist with the project that had been years in the making.

The monument is located in the formerly depressed area of Bouligny Plaza next to the Steamboat Warehouse Pavilion and overlooking the Bayou The Teche.

IVA member Leslie Landry said the event would include a normal ceremony in celebration of Memorial Day followed by a dedication to the monument.

“It’s not complete yet, but it’s complete enough to dedicate it,” Landry said.

The area was filled in last year in preparation for the project, and a wall bearing the names of local soldiers who fought for their country are written across each part of the monument.

The new feature of Bouligny Plaza also includes bricks that were donated by local residents and supporters of the monument. The city of New Iberia had asked for donations last year to help cover the expenses associated with the monument, and all of those donors have their name etched onto the ground of the area.

The monument has been in the works by New Iberia’s administration since December of 2019, when the New Iberia City Council signed a cooperative agreement with the IVA to help with the construction of the project. Over years of fundraising, the IVA had raised approximately $50,000 for the monument, and the city government added an extra $25,000 that came from a one-time dividend check in 2019. The rest of the funding was made up from local donations.

The monument spent is still not fully complete, however. DeCourt had spoken about possibly putting a liberty bell within the space as a capstone to the project.

“This is something we’ve been working on for quite a long time, it’s taken quite a few twists and turns, but we are long overdue to have a memorial for the people who made the ultimate sacrifice,” DeCourt said last year.

IVA member Leslie Landry said the IVA were anxiously awaiting the completion of the memorial so that local veterans could dedicate it for the Memorial Day holiday.

A dedication for the monument is being prepared for Memorial Day at 6 p.m., which will be conducted by the Iberia Veterans Association who will also be celebrating the importance of the Memorial Day holiday.

The city project comes at the same time as other city projects like Rodrigue Park continue renovations. The pocket park dedicated to George Rodrigue just a few blocks down from Bouligny Plaza has recently undergone landscaping renovations as well.

The Veterans Memorial at Bouligny Plaza will be dedicated at ceremonies Monday, Memorial Day, at 6 p.m.

• The celebration commemorating fallen soldiers includes a flag ceremony, three-volley salute and harmony of patriotic music.

• The monument local honors veterans of foreign wars.