Divina, November 30, 2019. Another of the Trees of Peace was planted in a territory of the Slovak Republic. This planting was preceded with a ceremonial of unveiling of the reconstructed and relocated Monument to the Fallen Heroes from Divina village, which took place on the 100th anniversary of its building. The memorial was originally unveiled next to the old post office building at the lower end of Divina on May 15, 1949. On the “terrazzo” three-level pedestal stands a statue of Christ holding a dying soldier in his arms. On the right block is a board with the names of the fallen citizens from the village in the WWI and WWII. During the restoration work, new facts concerning the victims of the WWI from Divina and its local part called Lúky were made clear. Research revealed other names of fallen, which will be added to the Monument later in 2020. Placing of the wreaths at the Monument, was followed by the planting of the Tree of Peace. For this memorial the oak tree in the rare ‘Hentzei’ variety (Quercus robur ‘Hentzei’) was choosen. This variety was first mentioned in 1906 and grows to a height of approximately 15 meters.
Commemorative planting was attended by mayors of Divina and Divinka, Martin Fronc and Michal Krško together with members of the United States Armed Forces, SSG Daniel Collins, SGT Cody Rauch and SGT Brandon Tanis. American soldiers placed a wreath at the Monument of the Fallen Heroes and assisted in the planting of the Tree of Peace. At the end of the celebration Marek Sobola handed over to the mayors and soldiers the medal called “The Small medal of the Project” to commemorate the planting of the Tree of Peace in Divina. The planting of the memorial tree in Divina was carried out with the financial support of the Žilina self-governing region. The project received a grant in the “Individual Grants” program. Reportage about the planting of the Tree of Peace was carried out by the regional TV Severka.
