MALDEN — The first major memorial to Malden veterans is not the most well-known. But the little-known World War I memorial may transform into the city’s newest remembrance of Malden’s military heroes within the next year.
The stone memorial, 6 feet wide and 5 feet tall, sits at the west end of John Devir Park at the corner of Malden Street and Fellsway West, 50 feet from the Malden-Medford city line. It bears the names of 603 Malden citizens who fought in “The World War,” as it is stated on the stone, from 1917 to 1919. No one could foretell at the end of one of the most brutal wars of modern times that a second worldwide conflict would follow 20 years later.
The Malden City Council, led by Ward 2 City Councilor Paul Condon, has joined with the Malden Veterans Affairs Dept. Director Kevin Jarvis to come with a plan to revamp and recreate a new World War I memorial in the same spot.
Condon and Jarvis also say that there are more Malden names out there of soldiers and officers who served in “The World War” that were not listed.
“We want to honor all those from Malden who served,” Condon said. “We owe it to them, to their families and their descendants. There are a lot of names from well-known Malden families on the stone that exists now and we want to find all of them.”
Condon said he has been meeting with Jarvis, fellow councilors and others around the city and the region to come up with a plan to accomplish this project. The two major issues were trying to determine the missing names and how the city could raise funds to add to a federal monument.
The Edgeworth Fourth of July Association erected the initial monument under the auspices of the U.S. government in July 1920, less than a year after the end of World War I.
“Apparently, for many years since the monument was put in place at Devir Park, more and more names have surfaced that were not included on the original monument and it is up to us to make it right and do justice for those who served,” Condon said. He said he has gotten an estimate that there are close to 1,000 names in all, maybe more, that may have been missed.
Condon, who is one of the longest-serving councilors in Malden history, with close to 30 years, actually has that trait in common with the man for whom the park is named, John Devir, a former longtime alderman who represented the Edgeworth neighborhood in the early years of the 20th century.
Condon said the cost of the project now planned is about $50,000 and that he intends to lead a drive to raise those funds in the first half of 2018, with the assistance of his fellow councilors, Jarvis and other interested citizens.
“We have one of the greatest memorials to our veterans of other wars at Bell Rock Memorial Park, we want to do great job here at Devir Park as well,” Condon said.
Condon said the plan is have individuals “sponsor a veteran” for $25.
“Businesses or charitable groups may want to sponsor a platoon or more of names,” he said. “We are going to have a meeting in early January to get the ball rolling on this. I know the residents and businesses of Malden will get behind this project. There is a lot of excitement about this already.”
