By Jay Meisel

Meisel@hometownnewsol.com

FORT PIERCE - At the UDT Navy SEAL Museum, small areas memorialize fallen SEALS from various conflicts.

But there's no one central memorial that honors the memory of all SEALS who died in the line of duty.

Mike Howard, executive director of the museum, said plans have been underway for more than a year to create such a memorial.

Many former SEALS and their families have expressed the need for such a memorial, he said.

He's hoping one will be completed either by the museum's annual muster event in November 2010, where former SEALS and UDT members gather for a weekend, or as early as Memorial Day that year, he said.

It's expected, he said, the memorial will contain the names of about 260 former SEALS or underwater demolition team members.

Those will include the names of 83 who died in World War II and 49 during Vietnam. So far, more than 40 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

A number of others died in smaller conflicts, such as four at Grenada and at unspecified locations in that were classified missions, he said.

David Godshall, a member of the museum's board of directors, "took (creating the memorial) on in a personal way," Mr. Howard said. "It became a personal mission for him."

Mr. Godshall was unavailable for comment.

The project, to be built on the southeast side of the museum, will cost about $250,000, Mr. Howard said.

The museum received a $100,000 grant from St. Lucie County's Art in Public Places program, in large part, because of the support of Jon Ward, the county's former director of cultural affairs, he said.

Although the entire $250,000 hasn't been raised, enough of it has been to allow moving forward with the memorial, Mr. Howard said.

Paul Joaquin and Sons of Fort Pierce was chosen as the primary contractor for the project. St. Lucie County will provide landscaping.

Four artists were asked to submit small-scale models of the memorial, he said.

The museum's board chose sculptor Roy Shifrin of Vermont for the project.

Mr. Shifrin's sculpture will depict a SEAL. He has been sculpting for 40 years and has pieces in New York City, Orlando and Barcelona, Spain, among other places.

He said he wants to create a memorial that will be highly visible and one "in which the SEALS would have pride."

In New England, he said, there's a memorial at every village green.

"They're really not very exciting," he said. "They're not very memorable."

He wants to create a larger-than-life sculpture that depicts the mission of the SEALS and is artistic at the same time, he said.

Mr. Shifrin said his inspiration is that SEALS are underwater warriors who are able to "swim and attack and do their work underwater."

The sculpture will be cast in bronze with an internal structure that will allow it to withstand hurricanes, he said.

It will be on a 7-foot pedestal, making it easily visible to travelers passing by the museum, he said.

About the time working on the sculpture, he said: "One could almost say it's like a birth. It will take nine months."

For information about the museum or to support the project, visit www.navysealmuseum.com.