El Paso County and Honor Bell Foundation dedicate Pikes Peak Honor Bell to honor veterans

El Paso County officials, Honor Bell Foundation leaders and veterans gathered for a special recognition ceremony to dedicate the Pikes Peak Honor Bell, the foundation’s second bell to serve Colorado communities. The event included an invocation, remarks from county officials, a recounting of the bell’s origins and a line tolling by local leaders and veterans.

Marco McCurdy, identified in the program as a United States Air Force veteran and member of the Honor Bell Foundation board, opened the ceremony with a prayer asking for “strength and peace as we toll the honor bell for our veteran brothers and sisters today.” Commissioner Bill Wysong, introduced as a Navy veteran, welcomed the bell to the region and described it as “a living promise” to remember those who served.

Vernon Stewart, El Paso County executive director of community resources and the county veteran service officer, said the county’s reestablished Department of Community Resources will help connect families with burial benefits and ceremonial traditions. “Through El Paso County’s division of veteran services, we are privileged to serve those who have served,” Stewart said.

Heidi Olivera, identified as a founding board member of the Honor Bell Foundation and the wife of the foundation’s founder, recounted the project’s 11-year history, partnerships and the foundation’s goal of placing an honor bell at every national cemetery. She said the first bell was cast in 2016 and dedicated at Fort Logan National Cemetery, and the new bell will primarily serve southern Colorado veterans at Pikes Peak National Cemetery and the Air Force Academy Cemetery.

Larry Peterson, who served as a bell guard and helped lead the local capital campaign, described fundraising and community support that helped bring Bell No. 2 to the Pikes Peak region. Peterson cited a campaign total of about $400,000 raised and said the effort included contributions from veteran organizations and local businesses. He also described the campaign’s artifact process, noting the foundation received more than 40 artifact submissions and that a selection of items from 12 local veterans was embedded in the bell.

The program noted that one artifact embedded in the bell is a fragment of the USS Arizona donated by the family of Petty Officer Second Class Donald Stratton, whose service and postwar advocacy were described during the ceremony. County officials and other designated belladiers, including El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleicher and District Attorney Michael Allen, tolled the bell in a planned line tolling to honor the 12 local veterans named during the program.

Organizers framed the dedication as both a local memorial and part of a broader foundation mission. Olivera said the foundation’s founders and volunteers “kept the sound of honor ringing across Colorado” and described the bell as a means to ensure veterans’ sacrifices “never fade.” The ceremony closed with expressions of thanks to Honor Bell Foundation leaders, county staff and community partners.

The county did not take formal legislative action during the event; the program was a recognition and ceremonial dedication.