The third time truly was the charm when it came to correcting the Woodland Cemetery Veterans Memorial sign at Patriot's Point.

Travelers on U.S. 52 may have noticed that the Veterans Memorial sign has been changed to contain the correct spelling of cemetery.

The memorial project began in the fall of 1999 with the restoration of the Parrott rifles. Patriot's Point was dedicated in November 2001. That is when the sign was noticed.

It began simply as an error of a commonly misspelled word but took months to fix because of an unexpected accident.

As the 3,400 pound, granite sign that had the words Cemetery and Memorial on it was swung off the truck, someone

noticed that Cemetery was spelled with an "a."

"I think every teacher in all of Lawrence County saw it," said Bill Ellis, chairman of the memorial construction. "It is one of the toughest words to spell and it was an honest mistake."

A replacement for the 5-foot by 8-foot monument was ordered from a manufacturer in Italy. Six months later, it was delivered to the United States and was on its way to be engraved in Georgia when it was dropped and broke, Ellis said.

So, the process started over again. Finally, last week the misspelled version was removed and the new sign was set in place for all to see.

"It is standing proud up there," Ellis said. "It is a nice memorial and a tribute to all our veterans."

Woodland Cemetery trustee Arno Keyes said he is happy to see it replaced and that it really caps a great project.

"This shows that the cemetery is interested in our veterans," he said. "We did something big for Lawrence County veterans and veterans in the United States."

As more proof that it was not an uncommon mistake, Judge Frank McCown said that he has a letter from the President Bush where cemetery was also misspelled.

Regardless, McCown said it is nice to see that the memorial sign has been corrected.

"I am proud every time I go by," he said. "I am proud of our nation and Lawrence County. A lot of things in life are important to individuals, but that project was important to the community, Lawrence County and southern Ohio."

The total project also restored the four rare

Parrott rifles that have been in the cemetery since the late 1800s, McCown said.

"I am very proud that our community rallied to support all of our veterans," McCown said. "They showed support by saving the Parrott rifles and raising the money to bring the project to completion"

While the memorial may be completed for now, more bricks may be added to Patriot's Path. Each brick contains the name of a veteran and other information, such as service dates. The names are etched into the bricks and then painted with black paint.

Ellis said he designed the 1,800 brick main section of the path to resemble Lawrence County. The two flanker sections each contain 600 inscribed bricks and could be expanded, he said.

To help people find the bricks with their family members' names, Ellis created a list of all the names and a diagram of the general section where each brick is located.

The map is now available at the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library's Ironton Branch.

Joe Jenkins, executive director of the library, said that they have had quite a few people come in to look at the map. The library hopes to have the map available on the Web *site by the end of the year, he said.

One of the most fitting ways to encapsulate what the memorial means is to read the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt that were chosen to be inscribed on one of the stones.

"You, who have done your gallant share and have suffered in the doing, have the nation's eternal gratitude and assurance of your country's lasting remembrance and appreciation."