The memorial to Tommy Atkinson at the Pittsburg Airport is to be rebuilt with donations of time, labor, and material from the Cherokee American Legion, Avail Enclosures, CTEC, and others. On Tuesday, workers begin the meticulous job of demolition while trying to preserve the dozens of American Legion cornerstones embedded in the monument. Atkinson not only is the founder of Atkinson Armature Works, forerunner to Avail, he was instrumental in establishing Legion posts across the state. Known as the Flying Legionnaire, Atkinson was killed in a plane crash in 1934.