Groundbreaking ceremony held for northern Colorado’s first Gold Star memorial

MEAD, Colo. — On a clear Saturday morning in Mead, with birds chirping and mountains standing quietly in the distance, dozens of families gathered in Founders Park — united by a pain few can understand and a promise that their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

They are Gold Star families — relatives of U.S. servicemembers who died in the line of duty. For them, this groundbreaking ceremony wasn’t just about a monument. It was about creating a permanent place to reflect, remember and be seen.

“It means a lot — for Colorado to finally have its own memorial for families like ours,” said Chris Kinnard, whose husband was a Vietnam War veteran.

Kinnard’s husband was killed in action in 1969 when she was seven months pregnant with their son.

“He was 20 years old. Our son never met his dad,” she said. “Your life is never the same. Never the same.”

Like many widows of that era, Kinnard said she kept quiet for decades.

“We didn’t talk about anything. I would never put a Gold Star in my house or on my car,” she recalled. “Some women I know had their property vandalized. People would say awful things about our husbands — call them baby killers. Even children heard it.”

Now, at 78, she finally has a place in Colorado to feel proud, not silenced.

Another speaker, Gold Star brother Kyle Anderson, shared the story of his older brother, Navy Corpsman Christopher “Doc” Anderson, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. Anderson spoke through tears as he recalled how his brother had always gone first — at school, in life, in everything.

“My brother was 24 when he was killed… Two and a half years later, I turned 25,” he said. “It was the first time I had done something before my brother.”

The moment brought the crowd to silence. Some wiped away tears as Anderson continued, describing how every major life milestone — marriage, fatherhood, even the quiet moments — carry the weight of his brother’s absence. Anderson’s brother is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

“I wanted to go see him and tell him about all these incredible moments happening in my life,” he said. “But Arlington is over 1,600 miles away. And for some families, there isn’t even a place to go. But now, we do.”

This will be just the second Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Colorado. Mead’s monument was spearheaded by the Northern Colorado Gold Star Families Committee, led by retired Colorado Air National Guard Command Chief Jim Whitlow.

The idea started in 2017 and took seven years of grassroots fundraising — softball tournaments, pig roasts, pancake breakfasts, and Fourth of July events.

“Just the stone monument alone is $80,000 — that’s why it’s taken us since 2017 to collect the money…And you know, every penny we’ve collected has all went to the monument.” Whitlow said. “It takes a village to raise something, right? And we’ve had a good village behind us.”

The Town of Mead is covering the cost of the surrounding plaza, landscaping, and infrastructure. The final monument — made of black granite imported from India — will stand seven feet tall and 14 feet wide. The front will carry the universal inscription for these memorials, while the back will feature custom hand-etched panels representing Family, Freedom, Sacrifice, and Patriotism.

“This isn’t just made of stone,” one speaker said during the ceremony. “It’s made of memory. Of honor. It’s a promise carved in stone — that we won’t forget.”

Chris Kinnard stood among the crowd wearing a vest decorated with patches — one from her husband’s unit, the First Cavalry Division, and others from decades of remembrance events. She shared a photo of her husband in uniform and another from his high school graduation.

“Each one of us has a story, and we’re all different, but we also have had to sacrifice and have a loss of a loved one,” Kinnard said. “It’s always there. You think about them every day. Sometimes you wonder what life would’ve been like.”

The monument will be installed in July, with a formal dedication planned for late July or early August. Organizers are coordinating a military flyover and hope to bring national figures to the event.

For Chris Kinnard, it’s already a place she plans to return to — likely more often than she can visit her husband’s grave in San Diego.

“You die twice. You die when you first die physically, and you die when nobody says your name,” Kinnard said. “But here it’s a blessing, because there are no names — so it’s for everybody. And that’s what’s really special about it.”