SCRANTON — Local veterans creating the Scranton Veterans Memorial Park compiled the names of more than 950 city residents who died in wars since World War I that will be engraved on a new monument.
A park committee now seeks the public’s help in reviewing the list of names to ensure it is complete and accurate before engraving the names in granite for posterity, said committee Chairman Pat Ahern, a Marine Corps veteran.
A list of the veterans’ names can be viewed at www.thetimes-tribune.com.
The volunteer committee has been working for more than four years to create the park and monument on the Scranton High School campus next to Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Site work and installation of flagpoles, sidewalks and landscaping were completed last year.
Volunteers identified the Scranton residents “who died in the defense of freedom” during World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan, Ahern said.
About half the names, many of whom are WWI and WWII veterans, do not appear on any other monuments or plaques in the city.
“We are really happy to be able to correct that,” Ahern said.
The list also includes veterans born and raised in the city who moved away, joined the military and died in wars.
“Scranton is their hometown,” Ahern said. “We will strive to include all” names possible, to honor their sacrifices.
The committee plans to have the monument completed in the summer.
Anyone who knows someone missing from the list, or sees a misspelling or other mistake, should email Ahern at ahernoffice@aol.com by Jan. 1, so corrections can be made before engraving begins in early January.
To compile the list of names, committee volunteers scoured obituaries, newspaper articles, various other records and monuments.
“We’ve done a lot of extensive research,” VFW Post 25 Commander Jim Kuchwara said of the effort. “We take our fallen comrades very seriously. It’s truly an honor to be part of all of this.”
Lackawanna Historical Society Assistant Director Sarah Piccini also assisted in tracking down names of veterans.
Of the veterans identified, more than 600 were WWII veterans, Ahern said.
The monument will be composed of panels and will be 33 feet long, 6½ feet high and 1 foot thick.
“It’s going to be a landmark in the city of Scranton and in Lackawanna County,” said Kuchwara, whose Gen. Theodore J. Wint VFW Post 25 in North Scranton is the veterans organization sponsor of the park project.
The park and monument stemmed from the creation a few years ago of a Vietnam War memorial outside the Lackawanna County Courthouse. At that time, Kuchwara, Ahern and others realized that many local veterans who died in wars were never recognized on monuments or memorials.
“Their names should be spelled out on a monument,” Kuchwara said. “They gave their lives. These are the men and women who never came home. It’s always on my mind constantly that we are the lucky ones. They gave their lives so we can live our lives.”
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