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Old Greenwich War Memorial

Greenwich, Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut

Marker Inscription

To the heroic servicemen and women of Old Greenwich, Riverside and North Mianus Who during this country's wars went forth to face death on land, on sea and in the sky that mankind might live in freedom. Dedicated November 13, 1955

The Story

By 1955, when this memorial was dedicated, the three Connecticut shoreline communities of Old Greenwich, Riverside, and North Mianus had sent their sons and daughters into the century's great conflicts—from the trenches of the First World War through the global campaigns of the Second and, most recently, the fighting in Korea. Small towns across America marked these sacrifices with exactly this kind of communal tribute, gathering neighbors to honor those who had served on land, at sea, and in the newly decisive skies of modern warfare. The memorial's language—"servicemen and women"—quietly acknowledges that this generation's service crossed old lines, including the many women who answered the call in uniform and support roles.

Why it matters

Community war memorials like this one turned private grief and local pride into public memory, binding a town's identity to the national story of citizens who left home to defend a wider ideal of freedom.

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Related events

  • · World War I
  • · World War II
  • · Korean War

Themes & tags

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