Jackson County is moving ahead with plans to place a World War II memorial at Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park in downtown Kansas City, with officials targeting an April opening and hoping to have the monument finished by March. The planned six-foot granite monument would mark a notable first for the area: a memorial devoted specifically to World War II veterans.
The memorial is set to open in April, according to kctv5.com, with the plan calling for the monument to be finished by March. The station reports the design calls for a polished black-granite monument standing about six feet tall. County leadership has pointed to a gap in local commemoration as the reason for the project, noting that there is not a memorial specifically devoted to World War II in Kansas City and Jackson County.
Accounts of who is leading the project differ. Per kctv5.com, Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota said the county would use about $25,000 from its parks budget to pay for the monument. A separate report from citizenportal.ai identifies the county executive who presented the proposal to place a memorial at Oppenstein Brothers Park as Philip Odo. The discrepancy in names has not been independently resolved.
What the Monument Will Look Like
Citizenportal.ai reports the proposed design includes a polished black-granite monument, an Iwo Jima image, the five service seals and etched names of Jackson Countians who served. The outlet also reports that Missouri Valley College is compiling names for inscription on the monument, though the full list of those eligible for inclusion has not been detailed publicly.
The $25,000 figure tracks with a separate citizenportal.ai report on county legislative action, which states that Jackson County approved transferring $25,000 from the 2026 park fund for the monument. That same report says the Legislature accepted a committee amendment on July 6, which passed unanimously, as part of the process moving the project forward.
Contractor and Next Steps
Frisbee Monuments of Independence was awarded a sole-source contract to furnish and install the monument, per the legislative report from citizenportal.ai. Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park sits at 12th and Walnut in downtown Kansas City, according to FOX4KC, which also reported on the county's unveiling of the memorial plans.
Separately, the county is offering a veterans advocate position and expects a hire pending acceptance, according to the same citizenportal.ai report on the memorial pitch. The April opening and March completion target remain the county's stated plans, though neither milestone has yet occurred.
