Who grieved more than they? Suffered wounds that would never heal? Had hearts time would not mend?
Who else, but the War Mothers of Fulton County?
In 1920, they erected a granite monument to those Fulton men — and one woman, Miss Camille O’Brien, a nurse — lost in the muddy fields of France. The mothers chose a spot where people coming and going out of Atlanta wouldn’t miss it: at the merge of Peachtree and West Peachtree streets.
In case anyone doubted the purpose of the monument, a circular wall emblazoned with the names of those great battles fought to make the world safe for democracy, the War Mothers added an epitaph:
“In Memory Of The Fallen Heroes of Fulton County, Georgia”
“The World War”
The World War. How could the War Mothers know it was only the first?
Credit: Hyosub Shin
Credit: Hyosub Shin
On Monday, that monument — restored and ready to stand for another nine decades — will be rededicated. The date is timely: 100 years ago Monday, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, touching off a war that soon turned global.
Gov. Nathan Deal is the guest speaker at the ceremony, which will include veterans reading aloud every name on the monument's plaque — 140 in all. The ceremony is at 6 p.m. at Pershing Point Park.
The park, a triangle of grass and hardwoods, is on the northern edge of Midtown. It's named after Gen. John J. Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Forces into war in 1917.
“We’re real excited about it,” said J.P. Boulee, an attorney with the law firm Jones Day, located in a building adjacent to the monument. “It’s been a real labor of love.”
A labor of cash, too. Refurbishing the monument and the park cost more than $60,000, all from private sources: Jones Day; the law firm’s landlord, ELV Associates Inc.; Midtown Alliance; and American Legion Post No. 140 of Buckhead.
The money paid for an array of improvements — an irrigation system, new lights and better signs, a new chunk of granite. Paving stones, new plants and a few replacement trees rounded out the project.
Credit: Hyosub Shin
Credit: Hyosub Shin
On a recent morning, a couple of lawn workers scattered mulch at the base of a ginkgo tree in the park while Boulee and Ron Mountford nodded in appreciation. Mountford is a member of the American Legion post, named after 1st Lt. Waldo Slaton, whose name is on the monument.
“It looks good,” Mountford said.
That wasn’t always the case. The memorial and park got overlooked in the decades following the 1920 dedication. Atlanta pushed in all directions, became a big town, gained speed. The spot where pedestrians once may have paused to ponder Fulton County’s World War I casualties became something glanced from the window of a speeding car.
Time took a toll on the monument, too. Tree roots pushed their way through paving stones. Ice dislodged a corner of the granite marker. The concrete apron ringing the area cracked.
Boulee, an Army veteran, suggested restoring the site, and a senior associate at the law firm agreed. The lawyers’ landlord also committed to improving the spot. The veterans’ group — Boulee is a member of that, too — said restoring the monument was the right thing to do.
When it learned of plans to restore the monument, the Midtown Alliance pledged help, dispatching its “green and clean” team to the site. Volunteers painted conduit and junction boxes, moved trash cans and more, said Shannon Powell, the alliance’s chief operating officer.
“When Jones Day chose to restore the memorial, we decided it was the right time to collaborate with the city and refurbish the park,” Powell said.
The results speak for themselves. “We saw the state it was in,” said Boulee, who watched the project unfold from his office window. “We thought it needed preserving.”
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