Veterans hoping to restore Monessen memorials
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Monessen veterans hope residents will help them raise money to restore two war memorials in the city.
Ron Chromulak, co-chairman of the Monessen War Memorial Trust, said the memorials are in dire need of restoration.
The WWII memorial sits in City Park and is easily recognizable by seven tall, polished marble columns.
Thousands of names of veterans from Monessen from World War II to the present are etched in the stones that have weathered over time, collecting dirt and debris.
An even older memorial — a U.S. Army Sherman tank, was dedicated in 1959 to commemorate the city’s war dead — is also in need of repair.
Chromulak said restoration of the memorials will cost $10,000.
“They need to be restored, repaired, cleaned and resealed,” he said. “They are tributes, but right now, they could use some love.”
Some of the wear is due to years of residents visiting the sites.
“As people walk over the stones, they wear and get dirty,” he said. “Some of the names are not legible and that is not OK.”
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