On the lawn, just outside the Pike County Courthouse, is a Memorial to those who gave their lives in exchange for the freedoms Americans enjoy today.

Pike County Veterans Affairs Officer Randy Ross said the memorial was a longtime effort of Veteran Rodgers Powell as a way to remember those who gave their lives for their country.

“Rodgers wanted to have a marker at a visible location in the county as a reminder that freedom is not free and the cost is too often in human lives,” said Ross “Rodgers went all around Pike County for, months or a year, maybe longer, raising money for the memorial he envisioned. Rogers did not want the memory of those who gave their lives for peace in America not to be forgotten. He dedicated himself to that end.”

Powell raised enough money for the monument at the Pike County Courthouse. He also raised enough money to have small monuments for placemen in public places in Troy, Brundidge and Goshen.