Honoring the dead

Kristin E. Holmes has an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about cleaning military statues:

Eugene Hough pulls out a toothbrush and wax to restore honor to the World War One-era statue  (photo) tarnished by years of exposure to sun, snow, and rain. The Bryn Mawr veteran brushes away the cracked green patina and reveals the gleaming metal underneath. When he's done, the bronze sculpture of a soldier with his fist hoisted high will have reclaimed its luster on its pedestal in Northern Liberties.
Hough calls it an effort not only to polish the exterior but also to elevate the history. That mission prompted Hough, who served in the National Guard, to cofound Saving Hallowed Ground, a local nonprofit that aims to preserve and protect monuments that honor "veterans and patriots" and their contributions. "It's important to learn from the monuments and not compromise them," said Hough, 57.
Since the group was founded three years ago, Saving Hallowed Ground has helped restore thirty monuments and twelve plaques at locations such as Paoli Battlefield Historical Park, the Radnor War Memorial, and Palmer Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Hough founded the organization in 2012 with Marty Costello and Jerry Sweeley, fellow members of the American Legion. The Wayne-based group's efforts are funded by donations from foundations and private individuals.
Francis Ortner Jr., of the Paoli Memorial Association, called Saving Hallowed Ground "very instrumental" in maintaining the battlefield's monuments.
Hough traces his fascination with the field to his grandfather, an architect whose portfolio included monument design. "He talked about monuments embodying the stories of time," Hough said. "Books are great, but monuments reflect the communities they are in."
Saving Hallow Ground enlists the aid of area students and community members to help spruce up monuments using rags, toothbrushes, mild soap and water, waxes, and emulsifiers. After the job is complete, the group researches the event and names associated with the monument and makes a presentation in the community.
At the Northern Liberties site at Second and Spring Garden Streets, Hough is working on a monument that is missing two crucial pieces. He has joined the effort to replace them. A bayonet and one of three plaques containing the names of neighborhood veterans who served in World War One were stolen, said Mary Dankanis, former community coordinator of Northern Liberties Neighbors Association.
Known as Over the Top, the statue is part of a series of bronze doughboy sculptures created by John Paulding. (Doughboy is an informal term referring to American infantrymen who fought in World War One.) The Northern Liberties statue was dedicated in 1920, after neighbors went door-to-door to solicit donations to erect the monument.
Dankanis isn't sure when the Doughboy parts were stolen, but she has worked intermittently for years to replace them. She has written to veterans groups, museums, and military scholars, hoping to find a record of the names listed on the missing plaque.
Dankanis didn't know that what she was seeking was only a few miles away in a box at the Fishtown home of Jake and Mildred Veasey.
For decades, the couple have kept a program from the statue's dedication ceremony that Mildred Veasey's father, a World War One veteran, had attended. Charles Burg had served on a ship near South Africa. His name is one of those on the missing plaque.
Burg saved the dedication program that included all 1,080 names inscribed on the three plaques. "He was very angry when he found out the plaque was missing," said Veasey, 83. "He told his daughters: 'Hold on to this. One day someone will want these names'," said Jake Veasey, 81.
That someone was Mary Dankanis.
After Dankanis and Hough were featured in an article published about the statue and the World War One centennial, the Veaseys contacted her.
Now all, including Hough, are part of an effort to replace the missing pieces. Hough already has facilitated the making of a bronze bayonet that he hopes will replace the missing one. He plans to join with the community in seeking a grant to replace the plaque from the Penn Treaty Special Services District, a foundation that distributes community funding provided annually by the SugarHouse Casino to benefit nearby neighborhoods.
"We are ecstatic that we found the names," said Rick Angeli, of Northern Liberties, a Penn Treaty board member.
Ultimately, Hough wants the students and community members to research the names of servicemen listed on the plaque. Maybe they will discover more about such veterans as Burg. "There are a lot of these monuments and plaques in churches, town squares," Hough said. "What are the stories behind them? Who are these people?"

Rico says it's a noble endeavor.