Tribute to a Soldier

 
The Tribute to a Soldier statue project was established to honor the dedication and achievements of our men and women in the uniformed services of the United States. The project is the vision of two Cape Coral artists, Rudy Diaz and Dan Pardo. In 2007, with Rudy’s idea and Dan’s sculpture of a small model in hand, the two approached Cape Coral’s community leaders about paying tribute to servicemen and servicewomen currently serving our country. The project was such an inspiration that the community quickly embraced it. Seed money was provided through the Cape Coral Community Foundation, and the artists’ vision became a reality.

 
The project is to craft two life-size statues - one representing a serviceman in full battle gear and the other a little boy holding a soccer ball, both saluting our nation’s flag - which will represent the community’s tribute to our dedicated men and women in uniform. The community responded further, through the Community Foundation, by forming a volunteer committee called Tribute to a Soldier. The goal of the committee is to honor in perpetuity service personnel who have served our country and the noble cause of freedom in the past, present, and future through the establishment and maintenance of the Tribute To A Soldier landmark in the City of Cape Coral.
 
The committee of dedicated individuals from the Cape Coral community came together for a single cause, the admiration of our servicemen and servicewomen. Committee members voluntarily contribute their time and energy to ensure the Tribute to a Soldier statues are erected and honored in the Military Memorial Area of Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve.

 
As the Cape Coral community was banding together to make the statues a reality, a Cape Coral resident informed us that her brother in-law, country music singer Ken Randolph, had penned a song called, coincidently, ”Tribute to a Soldier”. He did it to honor the servicemen and women who were being deployed to Iraq from his home town of Nashville, Tennessee. A connection between the song and statue was established with instant success and since then many have joined the ranks of the artists and singer with the same spirit and intent of honoring our service personnel.

 
Please join us in making the Tribute to a Soldier project a reality for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Let us show them we care; let us show them our thanks by contributing to this worthy effort.