Plaques stolen from war memorial to be replaced

ANSONIA, Conn. (WTNH) -- Bronze plaques stolen from a war memorial in Ansonia will be replaced this weekend thanks to the efforts of some community volunteers.

A committee has been working tirelessly to raise enough money needed to replace them.

Some battles are fought on the battlefield, while others are fought over the phone. What happened in Ansonia shows that you're never too old to fight for what's right.

"Billy, here you are, DeMartino, William DeMartino," said Nancy Evans.

Nancy Evans' brother Billy is on the wall. He died in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

"He wasn't even over there a month and he was killed already," said Evans, "so that's the maneuvers he got, I guess."

For her, this is personal. Same with Peter Giovacchino who served in Okinawa, but in December, vandals stole two plaques , half the World War II and the victims.

"My daughter was afraid to tell me and I still feel bad when they talk about it," said Giovacchino. "...and I told him in plain English, some bastards stole our plaques and I still feel it."

"I sat there night after night with the telephone book and the book that I had when we started this project," Evans said.

"We're gonna put 'em in now, Giovacchino said, "they should last a lifetime."

The new bronze plaques will be put up this weekend and officially dedicated at a big ceremony on May 20th, the week before Memorial Day.

However, the war memorial still needs donations.

If you'd like to help, donations can be sent to the following address:

Woodbridge Avenue War Memorial
C/O Nancy Evans
100 Old Ansonia Rd.
Seymour, CT 06483