War Monument Restoration Project FUNdraiser - Aug 6

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE AUGUST DINNER DANCE!

War Monument Restoration Project FUNdraiser 

- Saturday, August 6 - 6-10 PM

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO EVERYONE... BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS FOR A NIGHT OF FUN!

DINNER... DJ... DANCING... BEAUTIFUL RAFFLE BASKETS!

TICKETS ARE $20/PP AND ARE AVAILABLE IN THE VETERANS' SERVICES OFFICE AT THE SENIOR CENTER.

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF THE THE FRANKLIN ELKS LODGE #2136, ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE WAR MONUMENT RESTORATION FUND!

WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/get-your-tickets-august-6th-dinner-dance

Download a copy of the flyer ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hK848SZZtRLLdbjwyBphvq2V8UeqrVo5/view?usp=sharing

Download a copy of the monument information sheet ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fk3kGwLiu_NxT2UYBa3smPIOfa8uWGIf/view?usp=sharing

Civil War Monument - single soldier

“Whose story is being told with this monument?”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The white Union Army commander sits rigid atop an imposing horse. His Black men, rifles to their shoulders, march resolutely alongside on their way to battle. 

For L’Merchie Frazier, the towering bronze relief in downtown Boston captures the stirring call to arms answered by Black soldiers who served in the state’s famed Civil War fighting unit, which was popularized in the 1989 Oscar-winning movie “Glory.” 

But the longtime Boston artist says she understands how the imagery of the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial (https://www.nps.gov/boaf/learn/historyculture/shaw.htm) can conjure mixed feelings as the nation takes another hard look at its monuments and memorials in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. 

“Whose story is being told with this monument?” said Frazier, who is the education director at the nearby Museum of African American History. “The hierarchy is very evident. White commander out front; Black soldiers in the background. It’s the first thing you see.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200727/whose-story-is-being-told-questions-and-scrutiny-focus-on-memorial-to-robert-gould-shaw-and-massachusetts-54th-regiment-in-boston?rssfeed=true

Robert Gould Shaw Memorial Boston African American NHS/ NPS

A Look at How Franklin Has Honored Its Heroes - Nov 4

The last full measure of devotion – A LOOK AT HOW FRANKLIN HAS HONORED ITS HEROES

A captured enemy ship, a time capsule, and the generosity of a Franklin-born Civil War veteran all figure in the story of how Franklin got its first two war memorials. 

Local historian, Alan Earls presents a slide show and tells the story of the town's monuments to its large contingent of Civil War soldiers as well as the related and far more tangled tale of the town's Spanish American War monument.

Saturday November 4. 10:30 AM 

Hours of Operation: Saturday 10-1, Sunday 1-4, Thursdays 5-8. Always Free and handicap accessible

A Look at How Franklin Has Honored Its Heroes - Nov 4

Find out more about the Franklin Historical Museum on the web at
http://franklinhistoricalmuseum.org/
 

“The Father of American Education"

The Town Council has named seven residents to serve on a committee to oversee the building of a sculpture and small park on the corner of Emmons Street. 

Town Clerk Debbie Pellegri, Charles Oteri, state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, Historical Commission member Mary Olsson, Lisa Piana, council member Robert Dellorco and council member Tom Mercer will together draft the plans for a sculpture depicting Horace Mann, an education reformer born on a small farm in Franklin in 1796. 

The statue and humble park surrounding it were decided on during the negotiations last year to sell the town-owned property at 150 Emmons St. When Franklin developer Roger Calarese purchased the property in January, he agreed to grant the town a roughly 1,000 square-foot easement at the front of the parcel.

Continue reading the article here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150525/NEWS/150527764/1994/NEWS

The space for the proposed statue would be at the corner of Emmons and West Central St.

proposed location of Horace Mann statue

Franklin has a completed P&S agreement with a closing date in November to sell the property to developer Roger Calarese. Approx 1,000 sq. ft. will be reserved in an easement as greenspace for the statue.

The complete set of notes from the Town Council meeting on Wednesday May 20th can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/05/new-videos-touting-franklin-previewed.html

Franklin's Single Soldier

How many times have you gone by the Town Common and wondered why there are two Civil War monuments? 

There is one along Main St with the Gettysburg Address on a bronze plate

Civil War Memorial with Gettysburg Address

And then there is the tall one in the center and set back along the High St side of the Common.

Civil War Monument - single soldier

It was 150 years ago this April 9, in a house at a dusty crossroads in rural Virginia, that the Civil War ended. Even all these decades later, that struggle remains, for better and for worse, the sovereign event in American history.

The article in Yankee Magazine goes on to talk about the single soldier monument that many New England commnities have. Franklin is one of them.

Civil War Monument - single soldier 1

Civil War Monument - single soldier 2

Civil War Monument - single soldier 3

Hence, the unfailing presence all over our region of memorials to local men who served in the war, in particular the ubiquitous “Single Soldier,” a freestanding figure of a Civil War infantryman cast in stone or bronze, equipped with the familiar kepi-style cap, a coat or cape, a cartridge box and bayonet on his belt, and a rifle. If you live in New England, then at least one of these soldiers is your neighbor.

Read the full article here
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/the-single-soldier-monument-civil-war-memorial#_

For more about the life and times of our Franklin neighbors
http://www.historynet.com/civil-war-soldiers

Saluting Heroes for Memorial Day 2014 in Massachusetts

From the Mass.gov blog I find these suggestions for "Saluting Heroes for Memorial Day 2014 in Massachusetts"

First established as Decoration Day to observe the sacrifices of those who fought in the Civil War, Memorial Day has become a national holiday to commemorate all men and women who have served in the American military. While there are many ways to celebrate our heroes in the Commonwealth, here are a few things to do this  Memorial Day, May 26: 

• Explore the Veterans History Project online. This program collects and preserves firsthand interviews with America’s veterans from World War I onward. You can even participate in the project by conducting your own interviews with veterans and hosting community events to gather veterans’ stories.

• Pay homage to those who fought in Vietnam at Green Hill Park’s beautiful four-acre Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Worcester.

• Go to South Boston’s Fort Independence, North America’s oldest continuously fortified fort, for a free guided tour of the Castle Island stronghold.

• Visit a veteran’s cemetery in Massachusetts to honor a veteran with the Memorial Day tradition of leaving red poppies at a gravesite.

Franklin 'doughboy' monument - photo from May 2009

For additional items on the listing you can read the full article here
http://blog.mass.gov/blog/history/saluting-heroes-for-memorial-day-2014-in-massachusetts/

Town Common Monuments

Franklin's doughboy is in the proper pose for today. Let's pause and reflect.




A slide show of the monuments on the Town Common taken over the past couple of years can be found here.




Franklin, MA

In the News - Vietnam War Heroes

Rose Turco formally invited the Town of Franklin and members of the Council to the dedication ceremony to e held on Nov 8th. Additional info from the Town Council meeting can be found here.

Vietnam vets to be honored in Franklin

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

 If you click through to read the story on the Milford Daily News page, you'll perhaps recognize the photo. I did provide the photo and permission for it to be used by the paper.

Afghanistan monument side

Afghanistan monument side, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Iraq monument side

Iraq monument side, originally uploaded by shersteve.

"monument only exists because of the generosity of residents"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted May 14, 2009 @ 11:57 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

On Memorial Day, the families of Franklin's two soldiers killed in action since September 11, 2001, will unveil a new memorial honoring the fallen heroes, says Veterans Agent Bob Fahey.

The monument, which features a bronze doughboy statue, is fully in place on the town common, Fahey said.

Next week, colored cement will be poured around it as flooring, and six lit service flags will be installed, he said.

"I think it's going to possibly be one of the nicest memorial sites in the state. I really feel it's going to be a thing of indescribable beauty," Fahey said, getting choked up.

"But most of all, it's going to bring home to people recognition of the sacrifices made on our behalf by all those who served in the military," he said.

Read the full article on the monument in the Milford Daily News here

For pictures of the other war monuments on the Town Common visit here and here

A recent picture of the WWI doughboy can be see on the top right corner of Franklin Matters.

Monument Mosaic

In addition to the World War I monument on the Town Common, the other war monuments also have a place.



A new monument to honor the veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict will be unveiled on Memorial Day, 2009.

"the committee has raised more than half"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Apr 01, 2009 @ 10:16 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

For the past six weeks, three Franklin High School seniors have spent their lunchtime walking from table to table with a poster board showing Franklin's fallen soldiers, and a big bucket to collect cash to build a monument to honor them.

Thanks to their efforts, and a whole bunch of quarters and dollar bills from their peers, the trio has collected $700 to put toward a new veterans monument honoring fallen heroes from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Veterans Agent Robert Fahey, who is chairman of the Monument Committee.

"It restores your faith in the American youth. The spirit of patriotism at Franklin High is alive and well - it absolutely is," said Fahey, a World War II veteran.

Read the article in the Milford Daily News here

"It will be a great addition"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Aug 06, 2008 @ 10:47 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

Town Council last night unanimously endorsed the Franklin Veterans Iraq/Afghanistan Monument Committee's proposal to erect a memorial on the Town Common.

The endorsement is subject to the council's final approval of the monument layout, which Veterans Agent Robert Fahey said will not displace existing war monuments.

The names of Lance Cpl. Shayne Cabino, a Franklin youth killed in action Oct. 6, 2005, and Staff Sgt. Robert Pirelli, a Franklin resident killed in action Aug. 15, 2007, will be engraved on a bronze plaque with a statement honoring all those who have served in Iraq.

On the monument's rear face, another bronze plaque will honor those who served in Afghanistan. It would include names of anyone from Franklin killed in action there if that were to happen.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here