Persian Gulf Veterans Join Monument Honorees

The names of Newtown’s Persian Gulf War veterans will soon join the plaques circling the base of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument on Main Street at the top of School House Hill Road. Roughly 24 names will be embossed on a plaque to join the others carrying the names of the Newtown men and women who served in other foreign wars.

Watching the chunks of soil slipping off a spade and into a pile on Wednesday morning, Persian Gulf War Memorial Committee member Mae Schmidle stood to the side as a crew from Putnam’s Landscaping LLC dug out a space for a granite foundation that was settled into place later that day. In coming months the bronze plaque with the soldiers’ names will be installed, said Mrs Schmidle.

Committee member and veteran Mike Hurley, who served with the Marines from 1960 to 1963, said this week the he looks forward to seeing a sign of remembrance for another generation of Newtown’s servicemen and women. The groundbreaking came on November 7 just in time for Veterans’ Day this weekend. The stone came from Swenson Granite Company LLC in Newtown.