WICHITA (AP) – A campaign to build a Wichita monument to Kansans killed in wars beginning with Operation Desert Storm is moving slowly forward, dollar by dollar.

The nonprofit group behind the planned Operation Freedom Memorial estimates it needs $200,000 for the monument at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Wichita Eagle reports the group has collected about $63,000 since fundraising began in June 2010.

The effort is led by Anita Dixon, whose son, Army Sergeant Evan Parker, was killed in Iraq in 2005. Dixon hopes to begin construction by March 1st, with a dedication taking place on
Memorial Day — May 28th, 2012.

More than 80 Kansas men and women have died overseas since the 1991 campaign known as Operation Desert Strom, when a U.S. led-Coalition ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait.