Correction: The original article had the procession being held on Sunday, May 26. The procession and dedication are both on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27. The Forestville Memorial Day Parade is Sunday, May 26, with festivities beginning at 1:30 p.m.
By David Fortier
The new POW/MIA monument that will be dedicated Monday at part of the Memorial Day celebration on Veterans Memorial Boulevard is as much for people who have lived here or who might live in the surrounding communities as it is for the people of Bristol.
“We are hoping that surrounding towns, people from the State of Connecticut, people come to visit here,” said vice chair of the Bristol Veterans Council Brian Avery.
“There’s a lot of people that used to live here that now only come back in the summertime to come here to pay their respects,” Avery said last week at the Boulevard where the finishing touches were being applied to the monument.
Aside from being the BVC vice chair and commandant of Forestville American Legion Post 209, Avery headed up the fundraising effort.
“It’s place to sit and reflect and realize the sacrifices that get made by soldiers that pay the ultimate sacrifice,” Avery said.
The monument is comprised of several components, a large 6-ft. high, 3-ft. wide and 10-inch-thick granite stone with the words, “You are not forgotten,” carved into it on the side facing a landscaped area with posts representing the different branches of the Armed Forces.
The posts are connected by thick black linked chains representing the bonds between the Armed Forces as well as symbolically reminding viewers of the chains that bind prisoners of war and keep them from their loved ones.
“They don’t come home,” Avery said. “They can’t be here for the Memorial Day picnic. They are not going to be here for Veterans Day. They’re not going to be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“So this is a way you can come here and remember them,” he said.
Across from the monument, under a flagpole, is a bench for anyone to sit and reflect. In the center of the posts and the chains is an empty stadium chair, signifying prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Chairs like this one are in stadiums across the country, and sit empty during games, as a reminder of POWs and MIAs, Avery said.
The posts are surrounding by flowers planted by the Bristol Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services employees who were responsible for the brickwork and the landscaping.
On this day BPRYCS landscaping and gardening worker Steven Schriver is planting flowers around the brickwork. He is joined by co-worker Ron Dionne. who is finishing the installation of the chains.
Avery is aware of at least two Bristol families with who have Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in their family.
“So there’s history here in town,” Avery said.
The opposite side of the monument, facing the Boulevard has lettering that says, on separate lines, “All wars/POW&MIA/Dedicated to the men and women of all wars & conflicts that have yet to return home/Lest We Forget.”
The effort behind the monument, Avery said, began months ago with a simpler monument that was supposed to be installed in Forestville’s Quinlan Memorial Park.
That effort shifted to the Boulevard and a larger monument, when the inlands/wetlands commission denied a permit in Quinlan Park because the monument too close to the Pequabuck River.
“So it’s been a very long endeavor,” Avery added. “I was stressing for many months to make sure that we had the funds to get this in place for Memorial Day. Now we are working on the contingency fund in case something gets damaged or broken.”
From top left, Bristol Veterans Council chair Rick Carillo and vice chair Brian Avery discuss the final touches to the POW/MIA monument, Bristol Parks’ Steven Schriver plants flowers, and empty POW/MIA stadium chair. | Laura Bailey
Fundraisers are ongoing, Avery said. Earlier this week, Dunphy’s Ice Cream ran a promotion and donated 10 percent of each sale to the memorial fund. True Value Hardware is selling t-shirts, hoodies and hats. The items may also be ordered at Primo Press, with proceeds going to the monument fund.
“We’ve had many of the veterans’ organizations here in town contribute to us,” Avery said. “One of our biggest supporters was Nutmeg Financial. They gave us a very substantial donation.”
Avery estimated that $22,000 has been raised, because those figures are with the BVC finance officer. Costs for the monuments and accessories, including flagpole, the lighting, flagpole, bench, stonework and plantings.
Maintenance for the monument and landscaping will be handed over to BPRYCS after the dedication, but the veterans will maintain a contingency fund in the event that repairs are needed.
Avery gave a shout out to BPRYCS team led by Bob Lincoln that pushed to get the monument ready for Sunday’s ceremony. He also credited New England Monument, for their role, in acquiring the granite and completing the lettering.
The dedication of the POW/MIA monument will follow this annual Memorial Day Procession, which begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 27. A reading of the names of those lost in wars will follow the procession at the pavilion on Memorial Boulevard. The festivities will end with the dedication immediately following the reading.
Correction: The original article included a sentence that Bruce Barton, grand marshal of the Forestville Memorial Day Parade, has a family member among the POW/MIA’s. The sentence has been removed.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.