Mokrisky Says "Killed In Action" Mark On New Sign Was Error

STOUGHTON, MA — Former Selectman Joe Mokrisky says the controversy surrounding the replacement of a sign in his uncle’s honor was a result of an error that has been completely thrown out of proportion.

Echoing the explanation he gave to WBZ, Mokrisky told Stoughton Media Access Corporation's Jeff Pickett on Stoughton Spotlight that he asked the DPW to change the sign for Kenneth Mokrisky Square from blue to black and he never asked for any other signs to be taken down to be used as a template.

While the town has no written policy on the matter, blue signs have traditionally been used to signify Stoughton veterans who returned home and black for residents who were killed in action. However, there are black signs in town for veterans who were not killed in action, with the Benjamin Simone Square sign being given as an example on the show.

Mokrisky told Pickett that he asked for the black design because the sign dedicated to his uncle fell into a state of disrepair and was willing to pay for a new one. Somewhere in the process, the black sign for Peter Mears Square, which hangs in memory of the 19-year-old who was killed in Vietnam, was taken down by a DPW worker and given to a sign maker to be used as a template for the new Mokrisky Square sign. When it was done, the new sign was identical to the Mears sign, including the part which said: "killed in action." Unlike Mears, Mokrisky returned home to Stoughton after serving in the U.S. Army.

Mokrisky said all he wanted was the information on the old blue sign to be placed on a new black sign. He said he would have gone with a new blue sign if he was told that black was for those killed in action.

"I said take the same information from my uncle's sign and just see if you can put it on one of the black ones with the same shape because it was a nicer looking sign. I didn't take any signs down. I didn't remove Mr. Mears' sign. I did not touch it, I did not bring it anywhere, I didn’t steal it, I didn’t do anything illegal," Mokrisky said.

The sign snafu has produced outrage from veterans across town and selectmen, who found the removal of the Simone sign and the creation of the inaccurate Mokrisky sign to be offensive. The board recently met in executive session investigate potential charges of criminal misconduct and to consider the filing of criminal complaints concerning the allegations. Mokrisky called any accusations of a crime slanderous.

“I worked for my uncle, I love my uncle, I looked up to him and he did a lot for me. Why on God’s good earth why would I lie about his service record?” Mokrisky said.

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