The Woodbridge Avenue Honor Roll and War Memorial Committee in Ansonia plans to install two new bronze plaques at its memorial on Saturday.
The plaques were stolen, and likely scrapped, in December, amid a rash of similar thefts in Derby and Shelton.
Volunteers for the Ansonia committee have spent the last four months feverishly raising money to replace the stolen items, valued at about $8,000.
“I sent out over 200 letters,” said volunteer Nancy Evans, 82. “Pete (Giovacchino) has too. I, myself have collected $4,000.”
The committee has been reaching out to Valley businesses and contacts to urge people to help them replace the plaques.
“It’s coming in slow,” Evans said. “We’re still getting a couple hundred dollars every time we get the mail. People have been very good.”
The replacement comes in time for the committee to showcase the new plaques at its annual Memorial Day ceremony at 2 p.m. May 20. The public is welcome to attend.
“I think it will be more special because of the monument being stolen and being replaced,” Evans said. “I think it will be special. That’s why we’re hoping to get a big crowd.”
Big Efforts
In the months after the three memorials were plundered, volunteer groups and the Valley Community Foundation started fundraising efforts to restore the monuments.
In Derby, a group of veterans plan to replace three bronze plaques with granite at Witek Park.
And the Derby Historical Society is receiving estimates for how much it would cost to replace a single plaque honoring Commodore Isaac Hull in Shelton.
Ansonia’s War Memorial
Ansonia’s is likely to be replaced first.
The Woodbridge Avenue Honor Roll and War Memorial was created by a group of dedicated residents in the Woodbridge Avenue neighborhood, who wanted to honor their neighbors for their participation serving the United States in various conflicts.
The two stolen plaques listed residents who served in World War II and Vietnam.
“We’re pretty proud of it,” Evans said. “It’s just beautiful. I don’t know how anybody had the nerve to dismantle it.”
Evans did not have a total estimate for how much money the group has raised, but said it was enough to replace the plaques, valued at about $8,000.
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Witek Park
In Derby, volunteers from five veterans organizations have joined together to replace three bronze plaques stolen from Witek Park in November 2011.
The memorial honors Derby war hero Private First Class Frank P. Witek, a U.S. Marine who killed 16 Japanese soldiers before dying in a hellish battle on Guam during World War II. The memorial was installed in 1999, through efforts of many Valley veterans, including Bernard Williamson.
Williamson said many of those same veterans are now working to restore the monument. They want to install granite plaques instead of bronze, because it is less likely to be stolen to scrap.
The three plaques will otherwise be identical to the three bronze that were previously there.
The group has ordered new plaques from Seccombe Brothers Memorials in Ansonia. The company estimated it would cost $3,800 to create and install the new plaques, Williamson said. The original monuments cost twice that, Williamson said.
The five Derby veterans groups have raised about $2,000 to help restore the monument, Williamson said.
When asked if the group was encouraged by the forward movement, Williamson said:
“We’re talking about being fed up with the fact that some scum bag stole the plaques in the first place, versus the veterans joining together and moving ahead. We’re disgusted with the first, and very happy with the second. We’re very happy that not only the veterans of the Valley, but the people of the Valley are stepping forward financially.”
Donations can be made out to American Legion Post 24, and mailed to:
John H. Collins, Post 24,
PO Box 95
Derby CT 06418
Commodore Hull
In Shelton, the Derby Historical Society also plans to switch materials when it replaces a memorial plaque dedicated to Commodore Isaac Hull, a naval commander during the War of 1812.
The Derby Historical Society first installed the monument in 1951, near the Commodore Hull Bridge, the Route 8 overpass over the Housatonic River.
The new plaque will be made of engraved granite instead of copper, according to Julia Baldini, the executive director of the Derby Historical Society.
Baldini is still getting quotes, but doesn’t expect the replacement to cost more than a few thousand dollars.
More Fundraising
The Valley Community Foundation hopes to fill in the blanks with its own fundraising.
The Valley Community Foundation set up a fund in January, to help the three towns restore the plaques.
The Valley Community Foundation had collected $14,075 as of this week, according to James Cohen, president of the Valley Community Foundation.
That number includes $5,000 raised by the Woodbridge Avenue Honor Roll and War Memorial Committee and a $5,000 match from the Valley Community Foundation. Cohen’s family also contributed a $1,000 match.
Cohen said the Valley Community Foundation is waiting for estimates on what it will cost to replace the Commodore Hull monument in Shelton.
Cohen said once they know how much all three memorials will cost, the Valley Community Foundation will be able to divide the money in its fund among the three groups.
The $5,000 has already been returned to the Woodbridge Avenue Honor Roll and War Memorial Committee, Cohen said.
Cohen said the remaining money should be enough to cover the remaining costs of all three projects.
“I think under the circumstances, we’re going to have enough to pay for it all, Cohen said. “That’s our intention.”
Donations to the Valley Community Foundation fund can be made at the foundation’s website by clicking on this link.
