Location
Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary is located adjacent to Riverside Park on the Barrier Island, south of the Merrill Barber Bridge.
History
After World War II, the Intracoastal Waterway was slated for dredging and Mr. Alex MacWilliam, Sr., a veteran and member of the Florida Legislature, persuaded the Federal Government to realign the existing Vero Beach channel to make way for a modern drawbridge and to create a Memorial Island with the surplus dredging material.
This Island was purchased by the City of Vero Beach on May 5, 1947 and it was dedicated in the early 1960'ss as Memorial Island Park. On August 19, 2003 a Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Advisory Committee was formed to assist the City Council and the Veterans Council with reviewing documentation for proposed memorials to be constructed on the Island. On July 6, 2004 the name was changed to Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary.