Politics & Government
Next Steps for War Memorial Include Fundraising, Checking Veterans Lists
The Wenham War Memorial Committee will start raising money and confirming veterans' names for the plaques in the comiong weeks.
The tasks of privately raising money and making certain that all Wenham veterans have their name on the plaques are next for the War Memorial Committee after a design for the memorial was approved at Town Meeting.
The new monument on the old Car Barn lot - at the corner of Asbury and Main streets - was approved by Wenham Town Meeting voters .
“We have a lot of work to do,” said committee chairman Peter Hersee.
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It is still too early to say when construction would begin.
The that served during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. There will be four plaques.
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The committee has a preliminary list of Wenham veterans, but it must verify each name and confirm the spelling. That process may take months, committee members have said. The names will be inscribed on a bronze plaque and cannot be changed at a later date.
Veterans, who are or were residents of Wenham, but didn't enlist from the town, are eligible to have their names on paid pavers around the monument, Hersee said. No contribution amount has yet been set for the names that would go in the pavers.
The committee will also continue to raise money to pay for the construction of the monument.
Hersee said there is no firm estimate yet on how much the monument will cost to build.
“It has been in a lot of flux lately,” he said, referring to .
He said the committee would meet again in two weeks and should have more cost information at that time.
The committee has about $84,000 raised toward the construction of the monument, Hersee said. The estate of Winthrop Perkins , plus another $80,000 in a perpetual funds to help maintain the monument.
The additional $24,000 for construction came from other private sources, including funds raised during the retirement party for Albert Dodge, said John Perkins, the nephew of Winthrop Perkins and a member of the committee.
Hersee said the committee would start planning the fundraising campaign shortly while the issue is still a topic of importance to the community.
