Franklin High NHS Seniors Raise Funds to Remember Town’s Veterans
Thanks to Franklin High School National Honor Society students, Franklin’s fallen heroes are now fully represented with bricks on Franklin Veterans Walkway. Shown, from left, Franklin Veterans Services Officer Dale Kurtz, Brady Duncan, Lia Madden, Trevor Donahue, Amy Sullivan, and Debra Martin (Franklin Veterans Services Office).
By J.D. O’Gara
There are 45 fallen heroes in Franklin, soldiers who have given their lives while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. All 45 were honored with pedestals on the Franklin Veteran’s Walkway when it was constructed, but not all 45 had a brick of their own – until now. Thanks to four National Honor Society students at Franklin High School, the remaining 37 of those 45 heroes who were not represented on the brick walkway now have one close to the pedestal that commemorates them. The FHS seniors, including Brady Duncan, Trevor Donahue, Lia Madden and Amy Sullivan, did some Facebook fundraising when they learned of the need. The money they raised not only paid for the bricks, but the remainder will also spruce up other Franklin memorials.
“A couple of them need repairs – the Gettysburg is probably the worst,” says Veterans Services Officer Dale Kurtz, although he also notes that the Civil War memorial needs attention and that the Doughboy, the WWI soldier statue, has a leak issue that will be addressed.
Kurtz worked with Debra Martin, also of the Veterans Services Office, on a grant through Massachusetts SHRAB, the state-level review body for grant proposals submitted to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to restore the monuments. They needed matching funds, which the students’ fundraising provided.
One of the four FHS students, Lia Madden, found out about the Franklin Veterans Office need through her work for Ariel Doggett, of the Franklin Senior Center’s supportive day program. Doggett says, of the NHS student’s effort, “It was great to have people volunteer and connect generations for the benefit of everyone.”
The bricks were placed as close to the pedestal memorials as possible.
By J.D. O’Gara
There are 45 fallen heroes in Franklin, soldiers who have given their lives while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. All 45 were honored with pedestals on the Franklin Veteran’s Walkway when it was constructed, but not all 45 had a brick of their own – until now. Thanks to four National Honor Society students at Franklin High School, the remaining 37 of those 45 heroes who were not represented on the brick walkway now have one close to the pedestal that commemorates them. The FHS seniors, including Brady Duncan, Trevor Donahue, Lia Madden and Amy Sullivan, did some Facebook fundraising when they learned of the need. The money they raised not only paid for the bricks, but the remainder will also spruce up other Franklin memorials.
Funds raised by the FHS NHS students will also help repair some of the town’s monuments to veterans, including the “Doughboy,” or WWI soldier, which has some water damage.
“A couple of them need repairs – the Gettysburg is probably the worst,” says Veterans Services Officer Dale Kurtz, although he also notes that the Civil War memorial needs attention and that the Doughboy, the WWI soldier statue, has a leak issue that will be addressed.
Kurtz worked with Debra Martin, also of the Veterans Services Office, on a grant through Massachusetts SHRAB, the state-level review body for grant proposals submitted to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to restore the monuments. They needed matching funds, which the students’ fundraising provided.
One of the four FHS students, Lia Madden, found out about the Franklin Veterans Office need through her work for Ariel Doggett, of the Franklin Senior Center’s supportive day program. Doggett says, of the NHS student’s effort, “It was great to have people volunteer and connect generations for the benefit of everyone.”
