Tonawanda, NY (WBEN) The upgrades have been completed at Elmlawn Cemetery's Field of Honor. A new monument was dedicated on Veterans Day Friday, replacing an 80 year old structure.
The Field of Honor is a section of the cemetery dedicated to veterans of the U.S. military. The memorial structure there was more than 80 years old and in deteriorating condition.
New York State Assemblyman Bill Conrad and State Senantor Sean Ryan each secured $27,000 in state funding to facilitate its replacement. "The foundation at Elmlawn, the Brounshidle Post, former supervisor, Tony Caruana, had visited my office very early, about a year and a half ago, seeing if there was some way we could kind of drum up resources for this project because we didn't want this to fall to pieces," says Conrad. In addition, the Elmlawn Memorial Park Foundation collected $13,600 of the $68,000 cost of the replacement monument, with $10,700 coming in the form of a donation from Buffalo-based memorial designer and builder Leon Komm & Son, and $2,900 pledged toward labor and long-term maintenance by Elmlawn Memorial Park and the Milton J. Brounshidle American Legion Post 205, also in the Town of Tonawanda.
The project included removal of the aging structure, site preparation, installation of the new memorial, restoration of the surrounding grounds, and replacement of the memorial plaques that circle the monument – including those laid in honor of Milton J. Brounshidle and VFW Post 2474 namesake Harry E. Crosby. Brounshidle was the first Kenmore native to die in World War II; Crosby was the second.
Conrad says you will see a placard along the path of the field of honor that leads up to a dome structure with a globe. "It's a very lovely walkway and pass in a tribute to those people who lost their lives and sacrificed for the United States.
The refurbishment of the Field of Honor began in September.
