Princeton’s Wars Memorial Bench, which stands at the corner of Nassau Street and Mercer Street, is in need of a little tender loving care.
The curved Indiana limestone bench is discolored from nearly 100 years of sun and rain and snow, and the circular bronze medallion is tarnished and pitted.
But plans are in the works to restore the bench and the medallion, thanks to the combined efforts of the Princeton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Garden Club of Princeton.
The goal is to complete the project in time for the Nov. 11 annual Veterans Day ceremony.
The plan to restore the Wars Memorial Bench fits neatly into the mission of the Princeton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said Rosemary Kelly, the chapter’s vice regent. That mission is to honor the men and women who fought for American independence by restoring historic monuments, among other things.
The Princeton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution expressed interest in restoring the bench and medallion, and its members paired up with the Garden Club of Princeton to take on the project, Kelly said. The Garden Club of Princeton planted and maintains the landscaping surrounding the park.
The Garden Club of Princeton has been involved with the Wars Memorial Park since its inception, said Robin Gosnell, the club’s president. It helped to raise money to build the park, which was proposed following World War I. It was completed and dedicated in 1925.
The Wars Memorial Park was intended to honor the men and women who participated in World War I, Kelly said. It is an acknowledgment of the role that women played in World War I, as well as their sacrifices. The inscription on the bench reads, “Hold dear our sons and daughters who gave their lives in the world war for freedom.”
It is unique in that no comparable war memorial in New Jersey is in the form of a bench, nor does any other war memorial in the state have a medallion that says, “Patriotism, Gallantry, Devotion,” Kelly said. The medallion says “World War 1014-1918.”
Since World War I, the names of additional military conflicts have been carved into the backrest of the bench – from World War II to the Korean and Vietnam wars, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
The park was proposed in 1918 by a committee of prominent Princeton residents as “a common expression of admiration and gratitude toward those who died in a great cause,” according to www.ww1mproject.org., which has compiled a list of World War I memorials and monuments in the United States and in U.S. territories.
The major contributors to the Wars Memorial Bench included Allan Marquand, curator of the Princeton University Art Museum; Bayard Stockton, a descendant of Richard Stockton, who signed the Declaration of Independence; and Gerard Lambert of the former Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Co.
Also, Mrs. Moses Taylor Pyne, a philanthropist, and Mrs. Thomas J. Preston, the widow of former U.S. President Grover Cleveland, who lived in Princeton after leaving the White House, were among the major contributors to the Wars Memorial, according to the website.
