Image from WFTS-TV/TampaCLEARWATER, Fla. - A dozen concrete statues of U.S. service members have been placed in the Gulf of Mexico, 10 miles off the coast of Clearwater Beach, as the nation's first underwater dive memorial honoring our country's veterans.
The life-size concrete statues represent men and women serving in the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.
Former Congressman David Jollys nonprofit, Brighter Future Florida, led the fundraising to complete the memorial.
Pinellas County provided $50,000, and Brighter Future Florida raised $150,000.
"In places where our veterans should feel the most safe and secure, many feel more vulnerable than when they're being shot at.