{"id":25126,"date":"2017-10-11T14:50:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T14:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/11\/world-war-is-neglected-monuments-are-getting-spruced-up\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:09:25","slug":"world-war-is-neglected-monuments-are-getting-spruced-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2017\/10\/11\/world-war-is-neglected-monuments-are-getting-spruced-up\/","title":{"rendered":"World War I’s neglected monuments are getting spruced up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
NEWPORT, R.I. \u2014 A World War I monument in Rhode Island no longer bears the names of soldiers who died fighting; the bronze plaques were stolen decades ago. A statue of a WWI soldier in New York City has a dented helmet and missing rifle. The wooden rifle stack on top of a monument in Washington state has rotted away. Trees memorializing soldiers from Worcester, Massachusetts, have died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 100th anniversary this year of America\u2019s involvement in the \u201cGreat War\u201d has drawn attention to the state of the monuments to its soldiers and galvanized efforts to fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many were forgotten about over time, or no one took responsibility for their care. Some were looked after, but they\u2019re in need of repairs, too, after being outside for so long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are some cases of vandalism, but in general it has been time and a lack of maintenance and really nobody paying much attention,\u201d said Theo Mayer, program manager for the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission\u2019s 100 Cities\/100 Memorials program. \u201cSomehow the war slipped into our historic unconscious, and so did the memorials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The centennial commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago are helping communities that are restoring and rescuing their memorials. Fifty matching grants of up to $2,000 each were awarded in late September. They\u2019re accepting applications for another 50 grants, to be awarded in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nation owes it to WWI veterans, \u201clest we forget,\u201d said Kenneth Clarke, president and CEO of the military museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey can\u2019t speak for themselves. There\u2019s none of them left. It\u2019s up to us to carry this legacy forward,\u201d said Clarke. \u201cThat\u2019s a responsibility we have as citizens of this great country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first group of grant recipients includes a project to replace the plaques in Newport, Rhode Island; repairs to the World War Memorial in Raymond, Washington, and to the Highbridge Doughboy statue in New York City; and tree plantings and restoration work for Memorial Grove at Green Hill Park in Worcester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plaques were stolen from the Miantonomi Memorial Park Tower in Newport nearly 40 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy hasn\u2019t anyone replaced them? I don\u2019t know. Apathy? I just don\u2019t understand,\u201d said Bob Cornett, who\u2019s working with the city on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Washington memorial, tucked in the corner of a park, was becoming an eyesore because of the missing top and paint peeling off the pillar, said Army veteran Gordon Aleshire. Now it has been recoated, a bronze rifle stack has been made and it\u2019s being moved next to another war memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were embarrassed over it,\u201d said Aleshire, coordinator of the project. \u201cThe VFW thought the city was going to take care of it, and the city thought the VFW was going to take care of it, and no one did. Now we\u2019ll have a plan to make sure we won\u2019t let it get into such disrepair in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Highbridge Doughboy was erected in the Bronx in 1923. It was later vandalized and moved into storage in the 1970s. It\u2019s currently on display in Central Park. It will be relocated to a park near Yankee Stadium when it is cleaned and fixed. The grant will help the city\u2019s parks department replicate the main dedication plaque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this March 30, 2016, photo provided by NYC Parks, the World War I Highbridge Doughboy statue is repaired at the NYC Parks monument repair facility in the Brooklyn borough of New York. World War I monuments nationwide have been forgotten about and fallen into disrepair. The centennial of America\u2019s involvement in World War I has drawn attention to the state of disrepair of many monuments honoring soldiers, galvanizing efforts to fix them. (NYC Parks via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
In this March 30, 2016, photo provided by NYC Parks, the World War I Highbridge Doughboy statue is repaired at the NYC Parks monument repair facility in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (NYC Parks via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
In this April 2017 photo provided by Gordon L. Aleshire, a World War I memorial pillar is shown in disrepair in Raymond, Wash. “We were embarrassed over it,” said Army veteran Aleshire, who’s coordinating the project. “The VFW thought the city was going to take care of it and the city thought the VFW was going to take care of it and no one did. Now we’ll have a plan to make sure we won’t let it get into such disrepair in the future.” The centennial of America\u2019s involvement in World War I has drawn attention to the state of disrepair of many monuments honoring soldiers, galvanizing efforts to fix them. (Gordon L. Aleshire via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
In this Friday, Sept. 29, 201 photo, Bob Cornett, of Newport, R.I., views a World War I memorial, which was vandalized about 40 years ago, while touring Miantonomi Memorial Park Tower with Jack Monahan, (not pictured), a member of the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, in Newport, R.I. The tower once featured bronze plaques with the names of WWI soldiers from the area who perished. The centennial of America\u2019s involvement in World War I has drawn attention to the state of disrepair of many monuments honoring soldiers, galvanizing efforts to fix them. (Jennifer McDermot\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
In this Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, photo, Jack Monahan, member of the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, left, views a World War I memorial, which was vandalized about 40 years ago, with Bob Cornett, right, and Edith Fletcher, center, at Miantonomi Memorial Park Tower in Newport, R.I. The tower once featured bronze plaques with the names of WWI soldiers from the area who perished. The centennial of America\u2019s involvement in World War I has drawn attention to the state of disrepair of many monuments honoring soldiers, galvanizing efforts to fix them. (Jennifer McDermott\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
In this Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, photo, young trees, right, planted to restore Memorial Grove, a living World War I memorial, stand among the original trees in Green Hill Park in Worcester, Mass. The grove is among the memorials that The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library are helping restore across the nation. (Bill Sikes\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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