Worcester unveils refurbished WWI memorial at Green Hill Park

WORCESTER — While every veteran of World War I has died, those Worcester residents who gave their lives in that war are now memorialized anew at Green Hill Park.

On Veterans Day at 11 a.m., some 102 years after WWI ended, a new memorial was unveiled with each of the deceased veterans' names again etched in metal as they were in 1928 at the city's Memorial Grove.

Now, those plaques are affixed to metal poles that line the outside of an small area suitable for a  quiet moment of reflection. A short distance away, the original Maple Grove now stands renewed with many trees having been replaced.

Memorial Grove, when it was dedicated in 1928, included a tree for each casualty. A bronze plaque inscribed with the name of a deceased veteran was placed at each maple. But over time, the plaques disappeared, some of the trees died off and other uses, including Shakespearean theater, took over the spot.

After years of planning, some delays and amid a global pandemic, city and state officials gathered Wednesday morning to dedicate "the largest and finest" WWI memorial in the country, according to Brian McCarthy, president of the Green Hill Park Coalition, who worked tirelessly on the project.

Worcester played a large role in the war, sending soldiers off from Union Station to fight overseas. 

"Men from Worcester that did not serve in New England's 26th Division eventually served in every division the Army sent to France," Mayor Joseph M. Petty said, adding that the memorial is a reminder of what the city lost.

"We need memorials like to to insure that we remember today and that future generations do not forget the horrors of war. We cannot forget the lessons we learned," Petty said.

With social distancing and concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, attendance was limited, but veterans were celebrated with a car parade that included a drive by many of the city's war memorials; a stop at Veterans Inc. on Grove Street for a "pancake to go" basket instead of the usual breakfast; and from-the-car viewing of ceremonies at the new memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Green Hill Park and the Korean War Memorial on Foster Street.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, praised the work done by the city to renew the WWI memorial.

"We must never forget these brave veterans for their service, their sacrifice and for everything they did for our country," McGovern said. "Worcester is really a special place and what we are here dedicating, or rededicating, is an example of that."

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. acknowledged the parks department for its work in putting together the memorial and noted that he was struck by the contrast of the peaceful park and its rolling green to the trenches and mud WWI soldiers encountered as they fought.

He said courage of our veterans has stood the test of time.

"We dedicate this magnificent memorial, a circle of 472 solid, weathered steel rods that seem to reach toward the heavens where our soldiers now rest in peace," Augustus said. "They bear the names of 379 Worcester souls, lost in the war, and they will stand tall for future generations to come and gather in solemn remembrance and thanks."

For the city's Veterans Services director, Alex R. Arriaga, the memorial is a fine remembrance for veterans like himself who headed off to war, young and full of life, only to return as very different people - if they survived.

Arriaga wears a tiny Purple Heart pin on his lapel, beneath an American flag pin. As a National Guardsman who was deployed to Iraq, he worked in detainment camps and was tasked with assisting in closing Abu Ghraib prison.

"We were constantly attacked," he said, remembering how the sound of mortars and bullets whizzing past him as he stood guard in a tower "just became kind of a day-to-day (occurrence)."

"I remember very vividly … a rocket landed where I was working and a piece of shrapnel sliced my head open," he said.

His worried mother and issues from the traumatic brain injury he suffered convinced him to let his contract run out.

He went to college, worked at Veterans Inc. and developed a passion for serving veterans in the community. That led to his new position with the city, which he started in January. He said helping veterans and their families has been a great gift to him and the work is satisfying.

"I can rest assured that anything that I can do, anything that I work on, is always going to benefit someone," he said.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute's architectural, civil, and environmental engineering professor Steven Van Dessel and his students designed the memorial. The Worcester Tree Initiative assisted in replacing the trees, and students from WPI and Worcester Technical High School worked on the project.