Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary in Vero Beach, Florida

Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary is a City of Vero Beach memorial island in the Indian River Lagoon, set aside for quiet reflection rather than recreation.

According to the City of Vero Beach, the sanctuary is located adjacent to Riverside Park on the Barrier Island, south of the Merrill Barber Bridge. The city describes it as a quiet haven for reflection on the sacrifices made by the men and women in the Armed Forces, and says it contains memorials to the men and women of Indian River County who died in combat while defending the country.

The island is not a general-purpose park like neighboring Riverside Park. The city page states that all uses must be in keeping with the purpose and intent of a veterans sanctuary and that general recreational activities are not permitted; questions about allowed uses go to the Vero Beach Recreation Department at 772-567-2144. The city's Authorized Uses and Memorial Rules add that there is no charge for admission, and they define the sanctuary as Spoil Island #31, the bridge leading to it and the entrance area just east of the bridge, including the traffic circle but not the roadway.

The Vero Beach island was built from dredging spoil when the Intracoastal Waterway channel at Vero Beach was realigned after World War II.

The Florida historical marker placed in 2005 explains that river travel was vital to early activity in the Indian River area, that efforts to dredge the river began in the early 1900s, and that by the 1930s the U.S. Corps of Engineers routinely maintained the channel called the Intracoastal Waterway. After World War II the channel was again slated for dredging, and 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, the first Merrill P. Barber Bridge, and to create a memorial island with the surplus dredging material.

City records give two dates for the transfer to Vero Beach. The city sanctuary page says the island was purchased by the City of Vero Beach on May 5, 1947 and dedicated in the early 1960s as Memorial Island Park, while the city's uses and rules document describes Spoil Island #31 as deeded to the city on May 5, 1941. Both are official city documents, and neither explains the difference.

The marker records that the island was dedicated on May 3, 1964, with a motto urging that the fallen not be forgotten, and that the Vero Beach Beautification Society and the Garden Club coordinated the beautification of the property. Today, the marker notes, the flag over the island can be seen from the deep channel of the Intracoastal Waterway and from the two modern bridges that span the Indian River.

The core memorials on the Vero Beach island are cenotaphs, individual markers for fallen Indian River County veterans whose bodies are buried elsewhere or were never recovered.

The Vero Beach uses and rules document says cenotaphs have been used since the dedication of the island and must match the existing ones in size and design. Vietnam era veterans are honored with engraved granite memorials, and veterans of other conflicts with granite memorials carrying bronze plaques.

On the Vero Beach cenotaphs, plaques show the name, date of birth and date of death, with branch of service and rank included when space permits. The same document says monuments have been part of the island since its dedication, with the original dedication monument setting the precedent.

Eligibility for a Vero Beach cenotaph is narrow. The city's cenotaph application, revised December 12, 2025, requires that the veteran died while defending the United States of America and was a resident of Indian River County at the time of initial entry into the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard. Each application is reviewed by Indian River County Veterans Services, the Veterans Council and the sanctuary committee before the Vero Beach City Council considers it, and if the council approves, the city Public Works and Engineering Department designs and installs the cenotaph.

The World War II Tribute is a permanent ceremonial stage proposed for the Vero Beach island, presented to the community in January 2024.

The city sanctuary page posts the WWII Tribute presentation slides dated January 19, 2024. They state that forty-two sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines from the county made the supreme sacrifice in that war, and they name the current needs as a permanent stage for ceremonies and a fitting World War II tribute bridging the Cenotaph Square and the Honor Circle, where Veterans Day and Memorial Day honors gather.

For Indian River County's tribute, the slides show the medals as the American Defense Service, American Campaign, Asiatic Pacific and European African Middle Eastern campaign medals and the World War II Victory Medal. Front columns are shown carrying stage heraldry that ties local service to the war: the Vero Beach Naval Air Station logo, the front and back of the Victory Medal and the discharge pin. The city page also lists a World War II Tribute video dated 2024.

New memorials and projects go through a Vero Beach advisory committee, then the City Council.

The City of Vero Beach formed the Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Advisory Committee on August 19, 2003, to help the City Council and the Veterans Council review proposed memorials, and on July 6, 2004, the name changed to Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary, according to the city sanctuary page.

The Vero Beach committee page says the committee studies and reviews documentation for proposed memorials and makes recommendations to the City Council. It meets at 9:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month in the City Hall Council Chambers at 1053 20th Place, and must include one member from the Veterans Service Office and one from the Veterans Council of Indian River County. As of October 15, 2026, the page lists John Matthews as chairman and Curtis Paulisin as vice chairman, with members Melissa Arndt, Carolyn Lange and Michelle Dale.

Under the Vero Beach uses and rules document, all work at the sanctuary is carried out by the city Public Works Department only after City Council approval, following recommendations from the committee and the Veterans Council. The sanctuary may not be sold, leased, traded or given away except as Section 5.05 of the city charter allows.

Visits to the Vero Beach sanctuary are open and free, but events need a city permit and must keep to a long list of banned uses.

The Vero Beach uses and rules document bars general recreation, weddings, demonstrations, rallies or politically motivated gatherings, fundraising events, sporting events, camping, alcohol, bikes, skateboards, scooters and skates, kites and model aircraft, commercial activity, and dogs other than service dogs. Band concerts are allowed only for military ceremonies or holidays of special national or local significance in which patriotic music predominates. Swimming, boating and fishing are not allowed, except that fishing is permitted on the bridge leading to the island as long as it does not interfere with permitted events.

Private memorial services on the Vero Beach island are limited to United States veterans whose discharge papers, issued for a reason other than dishonorable conduct, are provided to the Recreation Department and verified by the Indian River County Veterans' Service Office. Cremains of such veterans may be scattered in the surrounding waters but not on the island.

Groups book the Indian River Lagoon island through the request form, which asks applicants to check availability with the Recreation Department first and to submit 45 days before the event. Vehicles are not permitted on the island, parking is allowed only in designated areas, decorations must come down the same day, and loud music or amplification is not permitted. Approval runs through the Recreation Department, the county Veterans Service Office, the sanctuary committee and the City Manager.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, against the City of Vero Beach sanctuary and committee pages, the city's 2025 uses and rules, request form and cenotaph application, the January 2024 WWII Tribute slides and the Florida Department of State marker record.