Freedom is not free.

That is the reminder emblazoned across the face of a new monument to ex-prisoners of war. The monument was dedicated in Memorial Park on Friday morning.

Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and a spokesman from Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle's office were on hand as a crowd of some 200, including many veterans and several ex-prisoners, gathered.

Speaking to the crowd, Sheehy pointed to the many volunteers who fought and still fight for America's freedom and liberty.

"So even though today we are celebrating and recognizing our ex-prisoners of war, it's important that we continue to support those men and those women who are fighting today."

Sheehy also asked veterans and former prisoners of war to share their stories — "because that is how we learn."

Dennis Pavlik, a former POW during the Korean War, spearheaded the effort to get the monument erected.

He said former POWs may not get the attention they deserve.

"I feel that 99 percent of the veterans did not go through what we went through," he said. "We took one extra step that they didn't, and I would like to see us get the credit for that."

Pavlik, the former commander of the Nebraska Department of American Ex-POWs, said he was glad to see the project to fruition.

"It was a relief to see (the monument) set, and to say to myself, 'It's there, we're done,' "

Carl Weiss, the artist who created the memorial, said the project was not about art, but rather about the hardships of the POWs "and what they gave to us to secure our freedoms."

The monument, a black granite stone that is approximately 6 feet high and weighs approximately 9,000 pounds, is set in a clearing on the northwest side of the circle drive into Memorial Park from Underwood Avenue.