A tribute to veterans is now ready for display in Winfield. Ray “Bubba” Sorenson II has completed the artwork on the Henry County Freedom Rock. The artwork features Henry County’s ties to the armed services. The front of the rock displays the Medal of Honor flag to honor recipients from the county including Civil War veterans Edward Bebb, James Miller and Charles Swan, Philippines veteran Paul Straub, Apache Wars veteran John Yount and World War I veteran Emory Pike. The 224th Brigade Engineer Battalion headquartered in Mount Pleasant is also featured with the words “Clear the Way!” Sergeant Robert Briggs is featured with the purple heart he received for his service in Iraq during the second Gulf War. In April of 2005, he was one of three Iowa National Guardsmen injured in a rocket attack west of Baghdad. Frank Garretson of Salem, a World War II veteran is also pictured on the monument. As a commanding officer of Company F in the second battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, he received the Navy Cross during the attack on Namur Island and Kwajalein Atoll February 1st and 2nd of 1944.

The original Freedom Rock is located in Greenfield, Iowa and has been painted annually by Sorenson since 1999. The Henry County Freedom Rock is part of the “Freedom Rock Tour” a trip Sorenson is taking through the state with a goal of painting a rock in all 99 counties. The Henry County Freedom Rock is located in Winfield on Locust Street, across from Pilot Grove Savings Bank. There is still landscaping work and a second rock to paint at the site that will feature the names of all of the cities in the county. The rock was unveiled to the public Tuesday.