They bear the names of 150 Moore Countians killed in military action since the turn of the 20th century.

Raymond Doby, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Commit-tee, watched with keen eyes as the first of the two slabs was hoisted from a truck and lowered onto the white granite base beside the memorial centerpiece.

His oldest brother, Posie R. Doby, is among the names on the monument. He was killed during World War II.

Names of the killed in action are engraved in gold lettering against the black granite. At the top is the message "Killed in Action Defending Our Freedom."

In the fall, the remaining monuments with the names of other military personnel from Moore County will be erected on each side of the monuments for those killed in action.

North Carolina Marble and Granite Co. of Clinton, the contractor, erected the centerpiece and three flagpoles on July 19. The KIA monuments were installed Thursday.

An American eagle, wings spread for flight, stands atop the centerpiece of black granite capping a light gray granite base. Emblems of five military branches -- Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard -- are embossed on the gray granite.

Flanking the American flag are the North Carolina flag and the official flag recognizing military personnel who are or were either missing in action or prisoners of war.

The MIA-POW flag bears the legend "You are not forgotten." In the center beneath the POW-MIA letters is a silhouette of a man with a guard tower in the background and a strand of barbed wire in the foreground.

Doby said the Moore County Veterans Office has not uncovered any missing-in-action men and women personnel with local connections. However, there are several POWs from Moore County.

Concrete has been laid for the side wings of the monument, but a walkway will be completed in the near future.

Moore County Veterans Service Officer George Hunt said the list of names to be inscribed on the remaining portion of the monument will be mailed in mid-August if those slabs are to be installed in time for the dedication ceremony scheduled for Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

The deadline for submitting names to initial list was Tuesday, Aug. 1. That will give county personnel time to prepare the list in alphabetical order, correct errors and remove duplications.

Names can be added later, but they will not be in alphabetical order. The county has received about 1,700 names so far. A $30 fee is charged for every name to be included on this list. The names of those killed in action are listed without charge.

Doby said the county has ordered outdoor lighting that will allow the flags to fly continuously. American flag etiquette requires that the flag not be flown after dark unless it is illuminated.

Landscaping is to be completed by the Nov. 11 ceremony.

In the meantime, the county's Public Works Department is maintaining the site, raising and lowering the flag daily.

Overall cost of the project is estimated at $121,000, and the committee is covering the cost through contributions and the $30 fees charged for each name inscribed on the non-KIA monuments. The county donated the parcel of land in the Carriage Oaks complex off U.S. 15-501 near the N.C. 24-27 intersection in Carthage. The county has also agreed to maintain the site.

Florence Gilkeson can be reached at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.