SOUTH BEND — Many families will be separated for the Thanksgiving holiday as troops continue to serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is a way locally to honor military members at South Bend's Military Honor Park.

Norma Shidler of Winamac asked a Good Question: “I have nine brothers who served in the Army; how can I get a brick at the park honoring them?”

WSBT's Kirk Mason found out.

If you want an up-close look at U.S. military history, you don't have to take a long drive. It seems each year more is added to South Bend's Military Honor Park. But it might surprise you to know the original plan wasn't for a park; it was for a plane ... that was sitting in Kentland, Ind.

“We went down to see it, thinking we didn't know what we were going to do with it, because it had bullet holes shot in it — it was in very bad shape. So anyway we brought the aircraft back up here, [and] it took us two and a half years to put it back together," explained Donna Horvath of the Military Honor Park.

The plane is a fighter jet from the Korean War. The park sort of developed around it at South Bend Regional Airport. One of the growing traditions of the park is the bricks to honor veterans. There are now 3,200 of them.

“They can be from anywhere. We have bricks out there from Alaska, from Florida, from Hawaii, from any veteran that's served anywhere in the United States or overseas, and they don't have to have been in combat or anything,” added Horvath.

The bricks cost $50. To get one an application first has to be filled out.

If you are interested in a brick you can call 574-261-2066. All the money raised goes back to the Honor Park.