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Date: 6/14/2022
GRANBY – Construction of the new Granby Veteran’s Memorial will soon begin following recent Planning Board approval.
The Planning Board allowed the installation of the memorial to move forward after receiving the stamp drawings of the project during its May 24 meeting.
This marks another chapter in what has been a 10-year journey after the Granby Veterans Memorial Committee first met in 2012 with the goal of developing a plan to create a fitting memorial to honor the residents of Granby who served the country in time of war.
The site is on open land near the intersection of State Street and North Street in the center of town, which offers an ideal location according to the committee’s website. The stone walls of the memorial will reflect the local vernacular of New England stone walls which are found throughout Granby.
Walls at the memorial will feature plaques showing the names of Granby veterans who served in war ranging from the Civil War, either of the World Wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to have a name added to a plaque on the memorial, the veteran must have served at least one day on active duty during these periods of conflict, must have received an honorable discharge at time of separation, and must have been a Granby resident at the time of entry into military service or a resident for at least 10 years.
Four bronze plaques and two marble plaques adorned with the names of Granby veterans from the Civil War to the Vietnam War used to line the halls of Kellogg Hall but were taken down after Town Hall offices were relocated. The plaques were placed in storage at the Public Safety Complex. Granby veterans that have served in the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan have not been recognized and new bronze plaques will be created to honor their service as all plaques will be added to the memorial during construction.
The Veterans Memorial Committee has hosted events over the years to raise money for the project as it has been carried out through volunteers. The state gave a $35,000 grant for the project and $2,000 in an agricultural grant for the trees that will surround the memorial.
Granby Police Sgt. Jason Richard has worked on the committee and on this project since the beginning and is excited to be taking another step closer to getting the memorial installed. Richard said the next step is to get into contact with contractors to begin construction with hopes for the project to be completed before Veterans Day, a plan made in the fall after finalizing the land the memorial would be built on.
Different iterations have come and gone but now with the design set up and the location along North Street and near the Public Safety Complex chosen, the project is nearing completion. All that is left is building the plans. Richard added there is not yet a confirmed start date for the project, but he hopes to begin construction soon as possible.
Richard said while there have been plenty of setbacks the last 10 years, being at this point is an accomplishment and he is looking forward to when the memorial is finished and residents can honor the local veterans that have served.
“It’s all volunteers and a town committee and a friend’s group. Everyone involved is volunteering their time and that’s the best part about it, a lot of people want to see this completed,” Richard said. “It’s a place to honor all the Granby Veterans and its going to end up being hopefully a town park so its just going to add to the community I think in the end. It’ll be there to honor the names that will be on the wall.”