River travel was vital to early human activity in Florida and the Indian River area. In the early 1900's, efforts began to dredge the Indian River, and by the 1930's the U.S. Corps of Engineers routinely maintained this channel as 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, proposed a special project and 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. Lest We Forget were the words used in the dedication of this island on May 3, 1964. MacWilliam and hundreds of citizens in Indian River County did not forget and 17 years later created Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary. The Vero Beach Beautification Society and the Garden Club coordinated the beautification of the property. Today the Stars and Stripes wave over this island sanctuary, visible from the deep channel of the Intracoastal Waterway and the two modern bridges spanning the Indian River.