SPRING LAKE – Dr. Dave Dickerhoff closes his eyes, and already the Spring Lake dentist can see the “Special Forces Soldier” mural coming the town’s way.
He’s counting the hours leading toward Veterans Day.
“It’s going to be the first thing you see when you drive into Spring Lake,” says Dickerhoff, 68, of the mural. Dickerhoff is a former 82nd Airborne paratrooper and member of the Spring Lake Community Appearance and Sustainability Committee that is joining the Military and Veterans Advisory Committee and the Town of Spring Lake to unveil the mural.
The mural is to be placed along the south wall of “Stitch in Time,” an embroidery business owned by Air Force veteran John Springer at 412 South Main St. The unveiling is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 8, Dickerhoff says, which is three days before Veterans Day and, he says, not to interfere with a Veterans Day ceremony scheduled in downtown Fayetteville.
The mural will be the work of artist Max Dowdle, who in 2023 was commissioned to paint “Home of the Airborne,” which was unveiled at the corner of Main Street and Spring Avenue that drew 250 military veterans to the ceremony. That mural is located on the Beatitude House wall along Spring Avenue.
Retired Gen. Dan Allyn was guest speaker, Dickerhoff says, where retired U.S. Marines Gunnery Sgt. George Edmond Reed was honored as the Spring Lake Veteran of Year. Spring Lake native and Pine Forest High School graduate Sgt. 1st Class Shane Burroughs was also recognized as U.S. Army Recruiter of the Year. Allyn was commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps from 2012-2013 and Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army from 2014-2017. Allyn’s wife, Debbie Wingrove Allyn, grew up in Spring Lake.
Military ties that bind
“This community has grown up with Fort Liberty,” says Dickerhoff, a veteran who served as the first dentist in liberated Kuwait City during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Dickerhoff is proud of local military service.
“I learned to appreciate family members and retirees,” he says of the active duty and veterans who call Spring Lake home adjacent to Fort Liberty. “Since the 1950s, this has been a bedroom community” of military families. “There were lots of mobile home parks. But it’s a growing community, and one thing we can hang our hat on is our relationship with Fort Liberty. We are excited to organize another meaningful ceremony.”
The 2023 “Home of the Airborne” mural, Dickerhoff says, was funded by the Town of Spring Lake, circa 1951, and with support of a $5,000 grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County.
“That was our first effort, and the Arts Council was extremely helpful,” Dickerhoff says. “Max Dowdle had recently got a grant from the state legislature to do 100 public art murals in each county.”
The town, he says, convinced Dowdle to bring his skills to Spring Lake for the “Home of the Airborne” mural. Dowdle is a Greensboro native living in Hillsborough.
Dowdle equally is proud to bring the mural to Spring Lake.
“This is a wonderful second opportunity for me to give recognition to the military by honoring first the Airborne Division and now the Green Berets,” Dowdle says. “I want something bold and colorful and valiant to pay respect to the rich history of Fort Liberty and the Green Berets.”
For the “Special Forces Soldier” mural, the Town of Spring Lake, the Community Appearance and Sustainability Committee and Military and Veterans Advisory Committee, according to a news release, are turning to residents and businesses in Spring Lake and Cumberland County to raise $20,000 for the mural “to be able to honor our nation’s protectors and make this mural a reality.”
“We are certainly excited to be able to have this mural installed as part of the Spring Lake Arts Trail,” says Cynthia Wilt, chairperson of the Community Appearance and Sustainability Committee.
Wilt says the committee’s goal is to beautify public areas in the town; visually promote the benefit of the arts throughout the town and the county; to use art as a landmark to visually connect visitors to public space; and to educate residents and visitors about “the rich history” of Spring Lake and Cumberland County.
“The Special Forces mural will tie the history of the Town of Spring Lake to our relationship with Fort Liberty and Pope Army Airfield and Special Operations Command, with a special emphasis to Green Beret soldiers — the U.S. Army Special Forces,” Wilt says. “We are proud to share this mural with our community.”
Epilogue
Dave Dickerhoff is passionate about Max Dowdle’s “Home of the Airborne” mural at the Beatitude House at the corner of Main Street and Spring Avenue. He looks forward to Dowdle’s “Special Forces Soldier” mural.
Spring Lake has long been a part of neighboring Fort Liberty. Fort Liberty has long been a part of neighboring Spring Lake.
“That’s,” Dave Dickerhoff says, “our calling card.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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