News 14 Carolina's Lisa Reyes has more on the future of the commission now that the chairman has stepped down.
CHARLOTTE -- The a member of the Persian Gulf War Memorial Commission resigned Thursday after plans for a statewide memorial that were 17 years in the making fell through the cracks.
Christopher Chapman, a Charlotte native, died in the Persian Gulf War on Feb. 21, 1991. His brother, Michael, contacted Kuwait to help fund a statewide memorial to the men and women who served in the Gulf War.
Chapman was appointed to the commission designed to get the ball rolling but those wheels stopped turning and now he says enough is enough.
"It is with great regret that I feel it necessary to resign from the appointment of commissioner of the Persian Gulf War Memorial Commission," he said Thursday.
The commission had the design and location of the memorial set before the plans fell through.
Citing politics, lack of public information and a funding shortage, Chapman says it is sad the state has not taken this tribute more seriously. He says the commission hasn't met consistently enough to even break ground on the memorial.
"There have been encouraging times and frustrating times," Chapman said.
The location had been selected -- between the legislative building and the education center in Raleigh -- but the funds just stayed put, never getting the project off the ground.
Despite his resignation, Chapman says he hopes progress will be made in the future so the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, like his brother, will be honored in the state they called home.
The project’s price tag was $500,000. Kuwait donated $100,000 and a new commissioned was appointed by Gov. Easley in 2001. News 14 Carolina put a call in to Easley's office for comment but so far we have not received a statement.