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Monuments and Memorials Committee Minutes of Meeting May 9, 2019 Reed Room, Town Office Building Attendance Sam Doran, Chair; members Linda Dixon, Bebe Fallick, and Kathy Jacob; Prospective member Karen Gaughan from the Town Celebrations committee; Guest George Gamota of the Lexington Historical Society and WWI Commemoration Committee. Linda introduced Karen Gaughan as a longstanding member of the Town Celebrations Committee with a strong interest in this committee's activities. Since Linda is representing both the TCC and the Lexington Veterans Association, Karen could assume the TCC slot on the Monuments and Memorials Committee with no change in membership structure. Recognition of Lexingtonians Who Died in Service in World War II George Gamota began his presentation by asking, "are we sufficiently recognizing those who served and died in World War II7 and his answer was "no." After some preliminary research, George learned that 1,650 Lexingtonians served in the war and 53 died. Two plaques exist that bear these 53 names: one at Lexington High School and one at the VFW Post. Linda explained that, in the early 1950's, a special World War II memorial committee created the War Memorial Library at the brand new high school as a living memorial for future generations. The library has since been dismantled and the plaques scattered about. George would like to see the current World War II memorial, which consists of an engraved granite stone behind the Visitors Center, enhanced with a plaque containing these 53 names of the WWII deceased. Ideally, the enhanced memorial would be dedicated in the Fall of 2020. Members identified issues that would need to be dealt with, including support for the monument in its current state; lack of support for the project; high cost; long time to complete; the current renovation of the Visitors Center and surrounding grounds; and the need for a public education and fundraising program. Kathy Jacob cautioned that memorials always cost more and take longer than anyone first estimates. Bebe Fallick agreed to explore a possible connection with the architect and designer who is working on the Visitors Center. Sam Doran will contact Josh Craine, renovator of the Minute Man Monument, and the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society. The Minuteman National Park would be another good resource for referrals and costs. We could also collect photos of monuments, both great ones and not so successful ones. The group reached consensus that we should continue to explore the feasibility of this idea to determine whether to bring to Select Board as a formal proposal.