A local American Legion Post is paying tribute to those who served our country and those who serve the community with a fundraising effort to build a Wall of Heroes.

American Legion Post 196 has quite the story - their beachside home was once an old hotel, and now it's adding to it brick by brick.

"Each brick has a story. Every person on here has a story," says Jim Scott, the Brick Program organizer.

It's the start of a Wall of Heroes on the building - a way to honor and celebrate history.

"They're great stories to some people, tragic stories for others," says American Legion Post 196 Commander Tom Jackson.

The Brick Program is also a fundraiser - Post 196 was hit hard by the pandemic.

"We were closed probably for six months, and we did no fundraising for almost a year," says Scott.

"We probably lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 to $60,000," says Jackson.

Each custom-engraved brick is $100. The money will go toward upkeep so Post 196 can continue to help veterans and give back to the community.

"I do the installing of the bricks, and right now we have I think its 111 orders for bricks, and we have about 65 of them installed in the wall," says Scott.

"I had one person contact me and say, 'do you have to be dead to get a brick?' No. It’s for any hero in your life, whether it’s a police officer, your father, a neighbor, somebody who has helped the community. And it’s great way to memorialize them because this will last for a long, long time," says Kim Coleman Jones, a Brick Program committee member.

The goal is at least 600 bricks, but there's room for hundreds more. Anyone is invited to buy one - you don't have to be an American Legion member or a veteran.