Throughout East Lyme, in Flanders and Niantic, monuments stand in tribute to veterans from town.

Liberty Green, on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street in downtown Niantic, features a granite monument in honor of veterans of World War I and a three-section monument in honor of veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

A wooden monument for the World War was originally located across the street from Liberty Green, according to Town Historian Elizabeth Kuchta. A black-and-white photo of the 1918 unveiling ceremony shows a crowd of people in long coats and hats gathered around a monument draped in American flags.

When Stephen Bond, a prominent resident, donated land across the street, the wooden monument was then moved there and the area became what is called Liberty Green, she said.

In 1930, a monument made of pink granite quarried in East Lyme was installed in place of the earlier wooden monument. The monument bears an Honor Roll listing names of those who served in World War I and states that it was “erected in honor of those who answered their country’s call to serve for God and humanity in the World War.”

More than 50 years later, the East Lyme Veterans Council sponsored in 1981 work to build an adjacent monument for veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars, according to newspaper archives.

Today, bricks inscribed with names of veterans who lived in or have ties to the community have been placed on display near the monuments. They are in dedication “to the men and women of East Lyme who served honorably in the United States Military during war and peace. May they never be forgotten.”

The Veterans Council began the project, in which bricks can be purchased in honor of those who served, several years ago to honor service members, said Joan Bengston, secretary of the East Lyme Veterans Council. 

“It’s so wonderful that they are honored,” Bengston said.

The East Lyme Veterans Council will hold a ceremony at Liberty Green at 10:30 a.m. on Veterans Day. If it rains, the ceremony will be held at the American Legion on York Ave.

In addition to Liberty Green in Niantic, there are other veterans monuments.

A Civil War monument, dedicated in 1926 inside the Old Stone Church Burial Ground on Society Road and Riverview Road, bears the names of 93 East Lyme men who served during the Civil War.

“In perpetual remembrance of the men of East Lyme who offered their lives to preserve the Union,” the plaque on the stone monument reads.

About 100 veterans are buried in the cemetery, beginning with those who fought in the French and Indian War, said Kuchta.

Smith Gateway at Union Cemetery on East Pattagansett Road in Niantic also honors citizens of East Lyme who served in the Civil War. The gateway was built by Flora M. Smith in memory of her father Frederick Malcolm Smith, who is buried in the cemetery.

According to the East Lyme Historical Society’s website, Smith was a private in the Civil War. The gateposts further honor 85 people from East Lyme who served in the war, including 18 who died in service,  the website states.

Another monument stands outside of the Board of Education Central Office on Boston Post Road in memory of those who served. The East Lyme Veterans Monument was dedicated on Nov. 14, 1954, and refurbished in 1991 as part of an Eagle Scout service project by Mark A. Hardink of Troop 7.

Another tribute to veterans in town isn’t a monument, but a park.

In 1949, voters approved $15,000 to construct the athletic field at Veterans Memorial Park at Memorial Park Drive and Pennsylvania Avenue in honor of war veterans of East Lyme, according to a town report.

Kuchta said the veterans at the time wanted something that could be used by the townspeople.

The East Lyme Historical Society is working on a project in the archive room of the East Lyme Public Library to compile information on the veterans memorials and their history.

The archives are available from 9 a.m. to noon at the East Lyme Public Library, or by appointment.

Those interested in purchasing a brick to honor a veteran at Liberty Green can contact Bengston at (860) 437-7377.

k.drelich@theday.com