On November 11th every year we stop to remember those who have served, fought and died for their country. Previously, I wrote about the enormous impact that World War II had on the citizenry. While most monuments honoring veterans of war are put up well after the fighting has ended ( the Civil War Monument was dedicated in 1928 and the WW I stone, 4 years after the fighting ended ), the Roll of Honor inscribed with the names of WW II servicemen was dedicated while the war was still being fought.
The Rochester Honor Roll was unveiled on Memorial Day of 1944. It was placed in the triangle which was called Rochester Square, but is now named in honor of Calvin Daggett. There was all ready a memorial stone to WW I veterans located there and it had been dedicated on July 4,1924. Of the 30 names of men who fought in WW I, 10 had sons fighting in WW II and one man had 3 sons in the service.
The unveiling of the scroll was done by Robert L. Humphrey, the 3 yr. old son of Lieutenant Edward C. Humphrey whose war service I described in an earlier article and who was still a prisoner of war in Germany.There was a large celebration complete with a prayer of dedication by the pastor of the First Congregational Church and a dedication speech by Raynor M. Gifford followed by the unveiling. An orchestra led by Elmore Howes provided music and many patriotic songs were sung. The names of those on the Honor Roll were read by Gifford after the celebration moved into the Women’s Club. Participants included members of a variety of service organizations.
In later years the names of those who fought in the Korean War were added and eventually, as our country continued to be involved in military actions the names of those who served in the Vietnam Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and the Persian Gulf War were added on the reverse side.
By Connie Eshbach