Memorialization

Visit the Mall in Washington, D. C. and you can see the variety by which Americans memorialize events in our history. Oldest is the Lincoln Memorial with its colossal statue of the Great Emancipator and the carved words from his greatest speeches. Then there is the Vietnam Memorial, a black gabbro slash in the ground with its 50,000 plus names that reflects the tragedy and controversy of that war. Remember that traditionalists forced the addition of an old-fashioned (and moving) statue to the site. On Lincoln's right is the Korean War Memorial, my favorite. I first saw this at night and the stark figures crossing the center of the memorial reveal the tensions and fear of the moments before battle. The wall with its anonymous reliefs of the units that served in the war and the equally anonymous and very small relief of General MacArthur (pointed out by a helpful ranger) form an interesting historical study. The reflecting pool with the names of the nations that supported our efforts adds a traditional element to a perfect memorial. A brief walk down the mall brings you to the fascinatingly modern FDR memorial and the very traditional World War II Memorial. All big multimillion dollar efforts, but we in Easton do our best to memorialize as well.

Visit OA and one can see plaques commemorating students and teachers. Visit the town hall and you can see dedications to politicians, historic preservationists, and the current oldest citizen. ECAT just had a segment on the street signs that memorialize neighborhood soldiers who gave their lives in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The biggest outdoor memorials recognize those who put their lives on the line in the Civil War through Vietnam. Some of these reflect our bifurcated history. When the Ames family created Oakes Ames Memorial Hall for a new town hall and the Rockery as our Civil War memorial, the good people of Easton said thanks; and then kept the old town hall at Easton Center where they erected their own memorial to the Civil War dead. See the Rockery as Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial and the monument  at the end of Center Street as the traditionalist's addition. However the statue has a little modernist ambiguity-it faces south on guard lest the south should rise again, but it seems to turn a cold shoulder towards North Easton. At the Church Street Cemetery we have a memorial to those who lost their lives in service in modern wars while in North Easton we have the beautiful new memorial to all those who have served in those same wars. Luckily we have two days a year to honor veterans, and our two parades visit all the memorials!

Can anyone tell me where our Revolutionary War memorial is located?