DANFORTH, Maine — Officials in Danforth are raising money for a war memorial to honor those who have fought and died in service to the nation.
Commander Bruce McEwen of American Legion Post 45 said Monday that the effort to raise funds for the memorial has been ongoing for at least a year.
“We started talking about it last Memorial Day,” he said. “We have raised around $300 so far. There is a lot of excitement around the project but we also know that it is going to take a lot of work and a lot of money. But it is also something that is very important to us because we have a lot of veterans in this area and we need to honor both the living and the dead.”
McEwen said post members talked about what they could do to raise money and have planned an auction of donated items and services for July 28.
He said they that have studied other war memorials in the state to generate ideas for their own and to get estimates for how much it will cost to construct their own.
“We estimate that building ours will cost at least $25,000 or more,” he said. “We want to go with a local business and we are hoping to purchase it through Aroostook Monuments in Houlton. We have more than five hundred names that need to be etched on it. We have already gotten the word out and people have already started sending us money and sending us ideas about how we can raise money, so that is great.”
McEwen said the memorial will be located in front of Danforth’s town hall, which was recently remodeled.
“It will look nice for these men and women, some of whom gave their lives for this country,” he said. “While we are just in the beginning stages of this, the consensus right now is that we would like the memorial to be made of black granite.”
McEwen said that Danforth has a rich history of service to the nation and is a very patriotic community.
“We had nearly 200 men who served in World War II, we have a number of veterans who served in Vietnam and we had six young men who went two serve in Afghanistan,” he said Monday.
McEwen credited James Golding, Maurice Cowan, Peter Fitzpatrick and many other volunteers for assisting him with the effort.
McEwen said that a fundraising motorcycle ride will begin at 3:30 p.m. on July 28, followed by the auction at the town hall and a baked bean supper at 5 p.m. at the East Grand Athletic Fields.
Anyone who would like to make a donation to the project can contact Maurice Cowan at 449-2437.
