World War II plaque discovered in Monessen

The historic artifact has been placed on display at City Hall.

A World War II plaque is once again being proudly displayed at Monessen City Hall to honor the city’s war heroes.

American Legion Post 28 Commander Ron Chromulak, a U.S. Air Force veteran, discovered the plaque while searching for something at the Monessen Public Library. Chromulak said the plaque used to be displayed on the second floor of the library, but he thinks it may have been placed in storage during a remodeling project.

With some help from other veterans, the plaque was cleaned and restored. City workers Rodney Freeman and Dustin Premoshis helped install the plaque in front of City Hall.

Chromulak said the plaque’s origins are unknown, but he is happy it is properly displayed once again.

“It’s important because of what you have,” Chromulak said. “You have freedom. Freedom isn’t free. That’s what it costs, all of those people they paid. I mean, you have to instill a sense of patriotism in people.”

There are about 80 names of city World War II veterans inscribed on the plaque. Chromulak encourages everyone coming to City Hall to take a moment to stop and look at it.

“They should look at the names on the plaque to see if any of their (relatives) are on there,” he said. “If any of their friends or neighbors are on there, and if none of those are on there, then just think about the families of those people who are on there. A lot of those families are gone now, but you know their memory lives on, and we need to remember these people.”

Chromulak encourages school leaders to take their students to war monuments and honor rolls to learn about the part the city played in American history. He said there are war memorials at the 12th Street gate, in the city’s Eastgate section, at the City Park walking track and another by the Monessen School District football stadium.

“There are a lot of these plaques in Monessen,” he said. “I think it would be a terrific thing if, at the elementary level, if some teacher would put together a field trip and bring the kids around to see all of these memorials that we have in Monessen, so these kids will understand the part that people who are from Monessen played in securing our future and what we have today.”

The plaque can be found at Monessen City Hall in front of its main entrance located at 557 Donner Ave.