The Franklin Town Common has 11 war memorials, “and most of them need a little bit of work – some need major work,” says Dale Kurtz, Franklin Veterans Services officer. 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). At the end of April, Franklin received a grant of $18,338 the monuments, but that’s under half of what it will need to complete the whole project..

“We’re hoping to get that up and in progress by the fall,” says Dale Kurtz, Franklin Veterans Services Officer, who will retire this month. “I have to match the funds provided to us, either with cash or in-kind work.

A few of the memorials, says Kurtz, including the Revolutionary War memorial, the Persian Gulf memorial, and the Spanish American War Memorial, need some cleaning, and four memorials along Main Street need repairs to the concrete, says Kurtz.

“Every one of them needs a bit of work, but some more significant (repair) than others,” says Kurtz.

The second oldest memorial on the Franklin Common, the Gettysburg Address, built in about 1913 and placed by the Grand Army of the Republic Post #60 (which disbanded in 1939), is in significant disrepair, needing to be restored, with broken pieces that need to be fixed. 

Another in disrepair, according to Kurtz, is the Civil War memorial on the end opposite the Veterans Memorial Walkway. “People pass by this, and they probably don’t notice it, but it’s probably third on the list (needing repair),” says Kurtz. This monument was erected in 1903 in a project that was led and presented by Frederick Newell, who served in the 5th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War.

The WWI memorial, known as “The Doughboy,” in Franklin, has some significant leaking issues, says Kurtz.

“When it was originally erected, in 1929, it faced the center of the Common,” says Kurtz. In 1979, when the memorial plaza was created, that has the WWII, Vietnam and Korean memorials, the Doughboy was turned to face the monument and St. Mary’s church, he says. 

Not all the memorials in disrepair are very old. The Persian Gulf monument, constructed in 1991, is in some disrepair, and the Spanish American War memorial, which was erected in 2010, needs some help as well.

“We have a machine gun that was at the Common,” says Kurtz. “It was under great disrepair and was going to be trashed, and a group of Franklin residents restored the machine gun, and that’s when it was placed as a monument. The plaque itself cost about $3,800 back then.”

The Afghan/Iraq monument, is actually chipping on one of its sides, says Kurtz. That memorial was erected in 2008, and Kurtz is in touch with the contractor.

The Franklin Veterans Services office is hoping to raise funds as well as find contractors who might help support the project. Anyone interested in helping to restore these memorials can reach out, at (508) 613-1315.

If you would like to donate, you can send a check made out to The Town of Franklin, with “Monument Restoration Project” in the memo, and send it to Franklin Veterans Services Office, 10 Daniel McCahill St., Franklin..