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News Releases |
Knight Foundation Invests $1 Million in New National
Infantry Museum
World War II Street Chapel to Honor Knight Family
Beverly Blake (center), regional program director for Knight
Foundation, reveals a check for $1 million. She’s
flanked by Karl Douglass and Ledger-Enquirer publisher Pam
Siddall, members of Knight’s community advisory board.
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Columbus, Georgia – December 15, 2006: The
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has awarded a $1 million
grant for construction of the new National Infantry Museum and Heritage
Park. The chapel on the site’s World War II Street will be
dedicated to the Knight family’s legacy of both philanthropy
and military service.
The grant supports the museum as a catalyst for
revitalization of Columbus South. “All of us at Knight Foundation
are honored to be a part of the Columbus community and support the
National Infantry Museum,” said Beverly Blake, Knight’s
program director for Columbus. “This is a special grant that
blends transformation of community, support of a project that educates
that our precious freedoms are not free, and also honors the military
service of the Knight family.”
Before founding the widely respected chain of Knight
newspapers, John S. Knight was an Infantryman in World War I. His
son, John Knight, Jr., an Airborne Infantryman with the 17th Airborne
Division, was killed in combat on March 29, 1945, just six weeks
before V-E Day. He had earlier earned the Bronze Star for Valor
for his actions in the Battle of the Bulge.
“This investment says a lot about Knight’s
commitment to the community,” NIF Chairman MG Jerry White
said. “We’ll be proud to honor them in the chapel, a
sacred place that will honor all those who gave their last full
measure of devotion to their country.”
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality
of Columbus and other U.S. communities where the Knight brothers
owned newspapers. Since 1974, Knight Foundation has invested over
$18.5 million in Columbus. To learn more, visit www.knightfdn.org.
The National Infantry Foundation is conducting
an $85 million fund raising campaign to build a new National Infantry
Museum and Heritage Park on 200 acres linking Columbus, Georgia,
and Fort Benning, the Home of the Infantry. The world-class facility
will honor the 231-year legacy of valor and sacrifice of the Army’s
largest branch, the Infantry. The project includes a museum, parade
field, memorial walk of honor, authentic World War II Company Street
and 3-D IMAX Theatre. For more information, visit www.nationalinfantryfoundation.org.
Other
news releases.
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