Chuck Wright, a Vietnam War veteran who lives in Mill Creek, told The Herald about sitting on a bench at the city's memorial and watching a veteran and his grandchild make a rubbing of the veteran's name from one of the pillars. "That's what it's about," Wright said. "It passes history on."
On Veterans Day next Wednesday, nobody will be able to make that kind of rubbing from the newest stones in Library Park. The seven basalt pillars added this fall are still blank, because the city has set them up to fill once a year in a single batch, timed for Memorial Day, with space divided by where the person submitting the name lives. Knowing how that system works tells you what you'll see at the monument this month and when it will start to change.
Why the Monument Stopped Taking Names in 2019
The Veterans Monument next to the Mill Creek Library went up in 2010. It has become a central feature of city events, holidays and community gatherings. The last names were added around 2019, when the original six pillars ran out of room. According to the council's staff report, the city hasn't been able to add a name since then.
Expanding it took years because of the site itself. The city describes Library Park as a small park with limited buildable area, shaped by an on-site wetland and by damaged sub-drains under the lawns near the monument and playground. Before deciding where anything new could go, staff brought in a wetland consultant to map which parts of the park could be developed. The final design had to work around the wetland, limited space and limited parking, without adding much new pavement.
The total came to $860,260 from three sources:
- A $250,000 Snohomish County grant, awarded April 1, 2024
- A $250,260 grant through the state Department of Commerce's Local and Community Projects Program
- $360,000 in reallocated city RPB funds, approved by the council on March 10, 2026. $250,000 came from Park and Recreation Board projects and $110,000 from Art and Beautification Board projects.
Construction started in June 2026. As of October 5, the city had finished the new basalt columns and plaza, restored the paths and ADA ramps, and installed new lighting, benches, irrigation and lawn. Elected officials cut the ribbon on October 19.
Seven Pillars, Divided by Address
After six years of no new names, the city expected a backlog of requests once the space opened. It also had to decide whether Mill Creek residents should get priority. Staff checked how Puyallup, SeaTac, Renton, Lynnwood and Arlington handle similar monuments and found that none of them require residency.
An ad-hoc Veterans Committee came up with a compromise. It included city leadership, staff and community veterans, and partner organizations. Under its proposal, anyone can submit a name, residents and nonresidents alike, but the pillars are assigned in advance. Each pillar holds 80 names.
| New pillars | Reserved for | Name spaces |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Mill Creek residents and business owners, using the city boundary in effect that year | 240 |
| 3 | Regional submitters, including the municipal urban growth area and beyond | 240 |
| 1 | Service members killed in action or missing in action, submitted by local or regional applicants | 80 |
| 7 | Total new capacity | 560 |
The resident pillars use the city boundary in effect for that year, so a household in the urban growth area just outside city limits would apply under the regional allocation. The draft policy also numbers all 13 pillars, the original six plus the seven new ones, in order from 1 through 13. That should make it easier to tell family visiting for a ceremony where to find a name.
One Engraving Batch a Year, Timed for Memorial Day
The calendar is what leaves the pillars blank for now. The draft policy doesn't engrave names as requests come in. It collects them every year until an April 15 deadline, then engraves them all at once so they're installed before Memorial Day. New names will show up in one batch in late spring and stay unchanged through the rest of the year.
The draft also limits what each engraving can say:
Each engraving allows up to two lines of text, with a maximum of sixteen characters per line. Line one shall contain the individual's name. Line two may include the branch of service, rank, medals or honors, or dates of service.
Sixteen characters fills up fast. A longer full name may need to be shortened, and families may have to pick one item for the second line: rank, branch or service years. The rest of the draft rules:
- The person named must have served in the U.S. military, and can be living or deceased.
- The person must not have been dishonorably discharged.
- Each submission needs a DD214, DN204 or other proof of service. The staff summary also lists an attestation of honorable discharge.
- Each submission covers one person. Group names, graphics and symbols aren't allowed.
- The fee is whatever the outside engraver actually charges, which the draft says is usually more than eighty dollars. The 2019 rate was $83.
The staff report adds that veterans who return to active duty after leaving the service are still eligible, while people on their first active-duty tour have to wait until they separate. The ad-hoc committee can reconvene for cases involving a dishonorable discharge or missing historical records.
What Isn't Live Yet
On October 20, the City Council voted 6-0 to direct the City Manager to enact and administer an engraving policy. The rules above come from the draft in that night's council packet. The Communications, Marketing, and Recreation department will run the program, and the packet says a dedicated webpage for applications and payments is still to come.
As of this writing, the city's Veterans Monument page still says there is no space for new names and that applications will reopen once the monument is expanded. The packet doesn't give a date for the first application window or the first engraving. The next April 15 on the calendar falls in 2027, and the city's application page will confirm whether that's the first cycle. Requirements and fees can change before the final policy takes effect, so this is general information only. Check the city's official page for the current rules before you submit a name or a payment.
Next Wednesday at Library Park and on Main Street
Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and it will be the first one at the expanded monument. The city's schedule has two parts:
- Ceremony, 9 to 10 a.m. at Library Park, 15429 Bothell Everett Hwy.
- Parade, 11 a.m. to noon at Town Center, 15310 Main St.
This year's grand marshal is Chuck Robinette, a World War II veteran of the Pacific Theatre with the Army Air Force. The city says he enlisted at 17 with his father's permission and served on active duty from November 15, 1942, to November 13, 1945, followed by three years in the Reserves. He was a flight engineer and electrical specialist with the 40th Bomber Group, 45th Squadron. He flew in a B-29 named "Black Magic" from India over the Burma Hump to Chengdu for bombing missions over Japan.
The city expects a big turnout and has posted these traffic changes:
- No parking on Main Street between 148th Street SE and City Hall North from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
- 153rd Street SE closes to through traffic at 10:30 a.m. and reopens after the parade passes.
- Drivers coming from Mill Creek Boulevard can turn north on Main Street but will be sent to an access road south of Town Center.
- The north L.A. Fitness lot closes at 8 a.m. for parade staging. The south lot stays open, but no one can drive in or out once the parade starts at 11 a.m.
The hour between the end of the ceremony and the start of the parade leaves time to park once and walk between Library Park and Main Street, which saves you from fighting the closures twice.
What Comes Next in the Park and on Main
Library Park still has one piece left. The playground is waiting on new equipment, and the playground fencing and gates are scheduled for late 2026. In its October 6 announcement, the city said the equipment would arrive in early November and that a separate ribbon cutting for the finished park would follow soon after.
After that, Main Street moves on to the holidays. Holidays on Main runs Saturday, December 5, from noon to 6 p.m. at Town Center. Santa's Snowflake Village is open from noon to 4 p.m. at The Forum, 15121 Main St. A parade heads south on Main Street at 4 p.m., and the tree lighting is at 5 p.m. at Jewelry Source Plaza, 15603 Main St. Applications for the city's Royal Christmas Court are due November 15, and the members selected will ride in the December 5 parade.
When you walk past the monument on the way to the tree lighting, the seven new pillars will probably still be blank. Under the draft policy, the first new names would go up in late spring, just ahead of Memorial Day.
If someone in your family belongs on the new pillars and you'd like help keeping track of when Mill Creek opens applications, Crystal Dickerson follows city news like this all year and is happy to send you updates. Contact me today, and I'll make sure you hear when the city posts its application page.
