At least 207 of Merrimack, New Hampshire’s citizens were veterans of World War 2. When that war ended, a high schools student named Lester Langley built a wooden memorial, hand-painting their names. The memorial was placed by the town’s public Library, Lowell Memorial, on Baboosic Lake Road. When the parking lot for the library was expanded, the wooden memorial was removed and then lost.
As of September 2015, and due largely to a young man named Hayden Faust, a newly awarded Eagle Scout, from Merrimack Troop 424, the memorial was replaced in a different location — at Veteran’s Park on Camp Sargent Road in Merrimack NH.
Veteran’s Park itself was dedicated in 1991 as illustrated on the plaque located there: “VETERAN’s MEMORIAL PARK. This park is dedicated in honor of the men and women who have served our country in the armed forced of the United States during time of war. Since the American Revolution, their patriotism and courage have helped preserve the principles of freedom. We hold deep reverence for those who gave their lives and those who suffered the wounds of war. By the Citizens of Merrimack. November 11, 1991.
The names on the new memorial are not in any special order, so I transcribed them alphabetically as shown here. There were a few surname spelling errors, and I believe some names are missing, but that story deserves a separate blog post.
—Names on the 2015 WW2 Memorial in Veteran’s Park, Merrimack NH–
George Allgainer [should read Allgaier]
William Allgainer [should read Allgaier]
Eugene F. Haight
Frank E. Hall
Simond F. Janis
Charles Nute Jr.
Fred Perkins Jr.
Joseph Roy, Jr.
Carroll F. Stowell
John F. Stowell
Charles H. Watkins
John H. Watkins
John T. Wakins
John Wright, Jr.
In addition to the above plaques, another one honors those who served during World War 2 that reads: “Operation Silent Witness. This Dwight D. Eisenhower Green Ash tree is planted in honor of and in remembrance of all men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forced during World War II. VFW Post 8641. May 26, 2001.”
This post was created in response to Heather Wilkinson Rojo’s annual Honor Roll Project (at Nutfield Genealogy), where she invited bloggers to photograph and transcribe Veteran names for research. In 2015 Heather created a new web site to house all of the posts, called simply The Honor Roll Project.