Beverly Veteran Monuments Getting Facelift Around City

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly's rich military history dates back to the Revolutionary War when the city "basically had our own armada" of vessels protecting the shoreline and making routine trips across the Atlantic Ocean.

"People talk about the birthplace of the Navy," Beverly Veterans' Services Officer David Perinchief told Patch. "We were the birthplace of pirates. The whole town was privateers."

From a fishing village in the early 1700s, to privateer hub in the late 18th century, and throughout American history, Beverly residents have committed to protecting the country and fighting wars on its behalf. But that history has become tarnished in the city in recent decades — not in any way the veterans are regarded for their service, but in the tributes to them that have become weathered and damaged through the years.

Now Beverly Veterans' Services is looking to remedy that through a state grant, support from public officials and the dedication of resident Ken McKay.

"We were walking by some of the monuments and said, 'This thing hasn't been cleaned in 50, 60 years,'" Perinchief said of a recent inspection of plaques and monuments in the city. 'It was so patinated."

With the help of materials purchased through a State Historical Records Advisory Board grant, and the ambition of McKay, the city has begun fixing broken gravestones of veterans in its cemeteries and refurbishing plaques.

"Some of the people in younger generations, and even my generation, they have no idea about some of these people," McKay told Patch. "The physical places where people ended up are eroded."

The most recent project was the restoration of the plaque at Independence Park placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution Col. Ebenezer Francis Chapter dedicated on Oct. 12, 1929 where McKay donated the labor.

The before and after can be found here:

"That's something that would have cost $4,000 and $6,000 if we had put it out to bid," Perinchief said. "Having someone (in McKay) who wants to do it is a huge bonus. It took us ($10) and 22 hours."

"My hope is that people walking by will now take notice, and wait a second, and walk down that path, and actually realize the significance of that park," McKay said. "It took a good long while, and my back and my knees weren't happy about it, but I got it done."

Another ongoing project involves putting stars above street signs of streets named after veterans from the city with the help of Beverly Commissioner of Public Services Mike Collins.

“In these times we are not going to demand a ton of money,” Perinchief said. “We just want to start the process of getting things fixed up."

Perinchief said ongoing efforts are being made to fix and restore crumbling or damaged headstones.

"It's about family history," Perinchief said. "When a city has a clean cemetery it's basically like having another park. People go to a cemetery to reflect so it's sort of a city-beautification thing."

Perinchief said one way the public can help is by informing his office if residents have a veteran buried in the city.

"We have a way to get medallions to be placed on the stones," he said. "If they were in the Spanish-American War or World War I there is no way of us knowing that unless we have those markers.

"That way we don't miss them when it comes to putting out flags. We just ask that people remember these are all volunteers. A lot of times it's Boys Scouts troops. We are always looking for more volunteers."