Finding a home for history: Honor Roll signs come back to Marion

MARION — Two large signs honoring the names of Marion veterans have never quite found a permanent home in the town.

According to William Washburn, owner of Washburn Electric, one sign that lists the names of Marion Boy Scouts who served in WWII has “probably been in every building in town — but it has probably been booted out of every building in town.” 

He noted that it was in the Town House, the Music Hall and the VFW before it ended up in Washburn Electric.

In 2016 the Benjamin D. Cushing VFW post was disbanded and much of the building’s items were distributed to different people and town departments. 

“In the process of the town retrofitting the building, a lot of stuff was moved around. There was uncertainty with what would happen with these [signs],” said Chris Washburn.”They ended up in our possession until a permanent place could be found.”

Now, according to William, Washburn Electric is in the process of being sold and he hopes that Marion can house the signs in a town building. He brought them to a Marion Select Board meeting on Tuesday, April 4 with the suggestion that the town keep the signs in the Town House or the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center. 

“They really belong to the town,” he said. 

The first sign is hand-painted with the names of Marion Boy Scouts who served in WWII. According to William, this sign is the most delicate. The second sign honors life members of the Marion VFW. 

“If you start reading the names you’ll see selectmen and planning board members,” said William, pointing out the names of Joe Zora and Eddie Briggs on the Boy Scout sign. 

Next to some names are stars that indicate people who did not come back from the war, said William.

“I think it’s really important that this [should be preserved]  — just the memory of these gentlemen,” said Chris.