Those who knew Sgt. Paul Dumont Jr. best were on hand Tuesday night at the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex to see a field dedicated in his memory.
Dumont, a Jamestown High School alumnus who grew up playing soccer at the WISC alongside his six siblings, joined the army after he graduated in 2004. It was in at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan that he lost his life Aug. 19, 2009, of injuries from an incident not related to combat.
Dumont’s family soon dove into a fundraising campaign to honor their fallen son, brother and husband. On Tuesday they saw the force of their years of hard work, and $50,000 in donations, as a ribbon-cutting was held for the Sgt. Paul Dumont Jr. Field.
“Just to see it complete is the final piece of the puzzle,” Paul Dumont Sr. told WYDaily, adding the project — Dumont’s name etched to ground where children will run, a plaque telling of his service to all who enter — speaks volumes more than he could.
The new turf field was installed mid-November at the spot where Dumont ran as a child, with the memorial outside the field’s entrance telling of Dumont’s life and his ultimate sacrifice.
“Paul was a true American Hero,” it starts, going on to say Dumont died doing what he loved: serving the nation.
Dumont’s parents had nothing but high praise for the team at the WISC, which supported the fundraising campaign before they were named the recipients.
While the family was initially raising money toward a playground at Freedom Park, delays from James City County led them to reroute efforts to the WISC, which multiple generations of Dumonts have enjoyed as athletes and as staff.
“It’s kind of like a family,” said Bonny Dumont of the WISC. “So it was really nice for them to do this tribute for us.”
She said seeing the entire project come together is beneficial to his family left behind, and they could not be happier with the results.
The support for the project has stretched beyond the WISC, including the area military, civilian and business communities. Once any heard the reason the family was asking for assistance, Paul Dumont Sr. said no one could turn them down.
He told the crowd of about 80 people who came to the ribbon-cutting Tuesday evening the venture would not have been possible without each of their help.
After the ribbon-cutting, Paul Dumont Sr. joked when asked what he thought his son would think of the work and evening’s events, believing he would consider it silly and a waste of money.
But then his face turned serious.
“I think he’d be proud,” he said. “He’s looking down smiling on us.”
While Paul Dumont Jr. will not be able to see his name memorialized, his nieces and nephews – and children throughout Greater Williamsburg – can feel the spring of the field underfoot and know of the man whose sacrifice it honors.
Related Coverage:
