U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter stopped by Bryant Commons Wednesday to check on the progress of the Veterans Memorial Walk.

The Savannah Republican also attended the groundbreaking in November 2015.

The memorial is to be a tribute to all military branches. It will feature flags representing the different branches, benches, a reflection pond, granite pavers dedicated to active duty and veterans, and monuments to honor those missing in action and prisoners of war.

Soldiers from Fort Stewart’s 526th Horizontal Engineer Company, 92nd Engineer Battalion, have been doing construction at the site since August as part of their readiness training.

Carter said the first congressional district has four military bases, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, Kings Bay Naval bases and Moody Air Force base, making it home to over 65,000 veterans.

He said quality of life is the reason many veterans choose to stay in the area.

“We’re also blessed to have the Hinesville-Liberty County community. You will find very few, if any, communities that support our military as much as Hinesville-Liberty County does,” Carter said. “This community has been receptive, they’ve been accommodating, they’ve been so supportive of our military and I just want to thank you for that.”

One thing that’s been missing, he said, is a veterans’ memorial.

“It’s one of the few communities located near a military base that doesn’t have a veterans’ memorial. Well, we’re fixing that now. We’re over halfway there,” Carter said.

He thanked the soldiers of the 92ndEngineer Battalion and said “every day you exceed expectations and we want to thank you for what you do for our country. Thanks for this project.”

George Holtzman, co-chairman of the Veterans Memorial Walk board, said the soldiers’ did an estimated $500,000 worth of work. The project needs another $400,000 to finish.

Mounds of dirt still dot the site, but soldiers have completed drainage work and grading.

Ricky Hearn, the Hinesville Military Affairs Committee project manager, said phase 1 should be complete by May 15. Concrete work will start this week, with flags up in approximately two weeks.

Michelle Ricketson, executive director of the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority and Veterans Memorial Walk board member, said the a ribbon cutting for the walk is planned for November.

To contribute to Veterans Memorial Walk visit www.veteransmemorialhinesville.com.