Veterans Day is just around the corner, and a future veterans monument is one step closer to completion thanks to a donation from Cougar Run Elementary School.

Throughout October, Cougar Run students collected change to benefit the Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument project. The students have raised more than $2,000 and will be presenting a check to the monument committee during a Veterans Day assembly Nov. 9. The assembly will begin at 2:45 p.m. at the Highlands Ranch school.

"At Cougar Run Elementary School, school tradition has been to honor parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have served our nation as members of the military," said Whei Wong, director of communications for Douglas County School District. "This school year, students decided to take that tradition up a notch."

Plans for the future Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument were unveiled at an August 2006 tribute for Army Staff Sgt. and Green Beret Christopher Falkel, who was killed in action Aug. 8, 2005, while serving in Afghanistan. Falkel, a 2001 ThunderRidge graduate, was the first Highlands Ranch resident to be killed in the line of duty. Click here to read more about Falkel.

The monument will be located between the Highlands Ranch Library and Civic Green Park on the 9000 block of Ridgeline Blvd. The fundraising goal for the monument is $200,000, and a groundbreaking date will be determined when a substantial amount of money has been raised.

However, Jeff Alvis, chairman of the Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument committee, said, "Our hope would be that we could break ground sometime in 2008."

Cougar Run assistant principal Jeanne Ulrich said she was first inspired to get the school to contribute to the monument when she saw a display for it at the Highlands Ranch Library. She said her inspiration was strengthened when she took a trip to Washington, D.C. and saw the veterans memorials there. She said she also saw a bulletin board at Highlands Ranch High School of all the Highlands Ranch youth currently serving in the military.

"These could have been Cougar Run kids," Ulrich said. "We gotta do something."

Ulrich said she pitched the idea to Cougar Run parents and the school board and received a green light. She said the students raised approximately $2,000 from bringing in loose change every day.

"There were days when I counted 800 pennies," Ulrich said. "There wasn't a class that didn't raise more than $150."

When Falkel's father, Jeff, got word that the students raised $500 during the first week of October, he said he'd donate $500 in honor of Christopher if the kids could raise the same amount the second week. And they did, Ulrich said. Along with the $2,000 check from Cougar Run, Jeff Falkel will be donating $500 to the monument this Veterans Day.

"It's just a way for us to raise awareness and thank people who have served for our country," Ulrich said. "We just know freedom. We don't know anything else."

According to design plans, the monument will be enclosed by Colorado native rock walls and landscaping, with an arch at the entryway. Other features of the monument will include five large native rocks encasing emblems of each of the five branches of the armed forces, cascading water and a pond and a dedication wall made of personalized dedication tiles to recognize veterans.

Alvis said individuals can contribute to the funding of the monument by purchasing dedication tiles -- 4-by-8-inch tiles cost $200 each and 8-by-8 tiles cost $500. The smaller tiles each will display three lines of text: the veteran's name; branch of military and rank; and date served and casualty classification, if applicable. The larger tiles will display the same three lines of text as the smaller ones, plus two more: place served; and special awards and accommodations.

Anyone interested in purchasing a tile can do so at http://veteransmonument.highlandsranch.org.

Click here to read a column from Vietnam veteran Bob Steinle, who serves on the Highlands Ranch Veterans Monument committee.

Click here to read a letter from Highlands Ranch resident Mike Mobley, a father of twin sons currently serving in the military, and letters from veteran friends of Mobley.

Click here to read a column from Castle Rock veteran Bob Rotruck.

Everyone is invited to leave a comment in the box below this story in honor of Veterans Day. Or you can post your own Veterans Day story on YourHub.com.