KANNAPOLIS — The Kannapolis City Council has renamed Southern Avenue to Kannapolis Veterans Way. The street is near Veterans Park downtown.

“Kannapolis has a proud heritage of men and women serving in the military,” Mayor Darrell Hinnant said. “It is our privilege to rename this street in honor of the thousands of Kannapolis, Rowan and Cabarrus County residents who have served in the military and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life. We are grateful for the sacrifices made in the past and present by those who have served and are serving now. This is a very small token of appreciation to show how appreciative we are of all our military service people.”

The announcement of the street renaming was made during the Memorial Day Service held at Veterans Park held on Monday.

Veterans Park on Main Street includes brick walkways, fountains and green spaces which form a beautiful community gathering place for concerts and special events. Striking features such as the eternal flame, granite Ring of Honor, Memorial Plaza monument and bronze wreath create an atmosphere of respect and quiet reflection in which to pay tribute to those who have served.

The granite Ring of Honor displays over 1,700 names of those individuals from Rowan and Cabarrus counties, dating back to the Revolutionary War, who have died in service. The design of the Memorial Plaza at the Park includes a five-point star honoring the five branches of military service and a monument and bronze wreath reminiscent of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The memorial’s eternal flame burns in honor of those veterans commemorated on the Ring of Honor. Surrounded by cascading water, the eternal flame is decorated with bronze plaques representing the five branches of military service, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps. and the Merchant Marines.