HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-15-MMC-min-rev1 Monuments and Memorials Committee
Minutes of Meeting
January 15, 2020
Reed Room, Town Office Building
Attendance
Sam Doran, Chair; members Linda Dixon and Bebe Fallick; staff liaison Gina Rada, Director of
Veterans Services for Lexington/Bedford; Suzie Barry, liaison to Select Board; guests George Gamota
and George Burnell of the WWII Commemoration Committee; and guest Gary Fallick.
Recognition of Lexingtonians Who Died in Service in World War II
George Gamota updated the committee since his presentation at its meeting in May 2019. A Citizen
World War II Commemoration Committee has been formed and is well underway in planning for
multiple events during 2020. On November 13, 2019, the Commemoration Committee voted
unanimously to recommend the installation of a plaque bearing the names of the 59 fallen
Lexingtonians in Cary Hall. George presented this proposal to the Select Board on December 16,
2019. The Board was open to the proposal but requested a recommendation from the Monuments and
Memorials Committee before they would formally consider it. The plaque would be paid for from
private funds.
The members agreed that this proposal deserved their support, but there needed to be some guidelines
included in their recommendation. After further discussion, the members reached consensus on the
following:
The Monuments and Memorials Committee recommends the Select Board approve and
authorize the placement of a plaque in the Cary Memorial Building with the names of 59
Lexingtonians, all residents of Lexington at the time of their enlistment, who died in service in
World War II and that such plaque be installed in the Cary Memorial Building to serve as an
appropriate companion piece to the existing World War I plaque and that said plaque be of
comparable design, materials, and scale to the existing World War I plaque. The Committee
further endorses the goal of placing a temporary "placeholder"plaque as part of the Memorial
Day 2020 observance, with the formal dedication of the finished plaque to be held on Veterans
Day, November 11, 2020.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Submitted by
Linda Dixon