Saugus veterans added to Essex County memorials Web site

The town of Saugus this week was added to the Veterans Memorials of Essex County Web site, www.essexcountyveterans.com.The Web site, maintained by the mapping department of the Southern Essex Registry of Deeds, provides links to the 30 memorials in the town honoring local heroes, many who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.The Web site also provides links to services for veterans seeking information and families researching relatives in the military, and serves as a reference center for historians, educators and students studying the birthplace of the American military – Essex County.The initial plan was to map veterans squares in each city and town. But as interest grew, it was expanded to include memorial buildings, bridges, cemeteries, monuments and rolls of honor dedicated to heroes who died in battle. At this point, Southern Essex District Register of Deeds John L. O’Brien of Lynn, believing there is a public imperative to record the county’s unique military history, decided to expand the Web site and link it to other state and veterans national sites.”This Web site is a fitting tribute to all Essex County veterans and hopefully will preserve the memory of our hometown heroes for the schoolchildren of today and tomorrow,” O’Brien said. “Rather than fading away into history, this Web site will keep their memories alive in perpetuity.”A special section identifies all Medal of Honor recipients from Essex County, including Arthur F. DeFranzo from Saugus, and allows visitors to read the individual Medal of Honor Citations and view photos of the recipients and their gravesite.