Engraving of Bricks at Shoreline Veterans Recognition Plaza

A completed brick in the plaza

Story and photos by Doug Cerretti

The Shoreline Veteran’s Association (SVA) with cooperation of the King County Council, City of Shoreline, Shoreline businesses and interested individuals, dedicated the Shoreline Veteran’s Recognition Plaza (VRP) in 2016. 

First step in the process

The VRP honors Veterans from the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and the newly formed Space Force by having bricks engraved with the Veteran's name, service branch and years served. 

VRP is located at Shoreline City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline 98133.

Brent Smith from Pacific Coast Memorials engraved a new set of bricks honoring Veterans last Monday, October 18, 2021.

Brent Smith from Pacific Coast Memorials sand blasts the wording into the bricks.

The first step in the engraving process is to adhere templates to the bricks followed by sand blasting which etches the characters into the brick. 

Black paint sealer, which is impervious to the elements and highlights the characters, is applied and the template removed. A similar process is used to create the US Space Force on the granite obelisk; a template is attached followed by sand blasting, paint application and template removal.

Brent applies black paint sealer

Engraved bricks to honor Veterans past and present at VRP can be purchased for a $100 donation. A single brick can be engraved with three lines of text with up to 16 characters in each line. You can choose to have your brick engraved at VRP or shipped to you to display at home or give as a gift.

Bricks can be purchased online from The American Legion Post 227’s webpage  or you can print out the order form, fill it out and mail it in with your check or credit card number. Purchases are tax deductible.

This would be a great holiday gift to honor a Veteran family member or friend.