SMETHPORT (EC) — The entrance to the McKean County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Smethport’s Hamlin Lake Park is now paved and accessible to all.

Ryan Yingling, chairman of Smethport Borough Council’s parks committee, said the borough had received many requests for making it easier to access the memorial, and the borough worked cooperatively with Zach Pearson, McKean County Director of Veterans Affairs, who secured a $1,700 from the Veterans Trust Fund Grant Program to pay for the paving. The Sons of the American Legion Squadron #138 and the Taylor and Armstrong Contracting Inc., in Eldred donated equipment and labor and some fill  in preparing the base of the walkway, which is eight feet wide and about 100 feet long. The sons of the American Legion Squadron #138 Sons of the American Legion and McKean County American Legion Riders paid for the paving’s sealing.

Unveiled in 2014, the memorial, which lists the names of 19 military servicemen who were killed in this war, is located at the apex of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall stood when it was displayed in June 2006. “It’s gratifying to see how many people have visited the memorial since the paving was finished,” said Bob Funk, borough safety director.