Orleans to Consider Repairing, Rearranging War Memorials

ORLEANS – Veterans memorials in local towns act as a permanent representation and reminder of the nation’s wartime veterans.  

The Veterans and Memorial Day Committee for the Town of Orleans is requesting approval from the Select Board to make improvements to the veteran’s memorial stones at Academy Place.

Kevin Higgins, the chair of the Veterans and Memorial Day Committee and member General Jimmy Dishner say the site looks “disjointed.”

“My thought was wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow come up with a plan to possibly reconfigure this memorial area and make it a little more friendly for people to come and visit,” said Higgins.

In an early-November meeting, they pointed out that none of the monuments mirror each other, as they face towards the intersection rather than towards the center of the triangle they surround.

“I got to looking at this entire memorial stone garden and thought that it was rather disjointed. The World War I memorial is a concrete poured memorial, the World War II memorial is etched granite, the Korean War and Vietnam War memorial is brick veneer, which looks like fireplace veneer with bronze plates. They’re all disjointed and none of them really mirror each other,” Higgins said.

The committee’s concern with the memorial stones go beyond how they are situated. Higgins and Dishner add that the concrete has begun to collapse on the left and right of the names on the World War I memorial, and that the World War II memorial is “pitched forward.” They also say the Coast Guard bell, located on the other side of the triangle, is broken as well.

While the committee is currently in charge of ceremonies, town officials aren’t quite sure if the town’s charter has designated any governance of the memorials themselves.

The Select Board says it will take a look at revising the charter for the Veterans and Memorial Day Committee to place it in charge of the monuments and creating a funding application for the Community Preservation Committee. The board also approved funds to replace the missing names from the Korean and Vietnam War memorial.

By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center 

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