Speakers: ‘Memorial needs to be put back up’

U.S. Army veteran Jonathan Varnell said the removal of a nearly century-old stone monument in front of the Wilson County Courthouse in May was an insult to all veterans.

“‘To the Valor of Wilson County Soldiers,’ that is the plaque that is on the war memorial that was removed from in front of the county courthouse,” Varnell told county commissioners Monday.

Fellow veterans from Wilson and surrounding counties also attended Monday’s meeting.

“The soldiers are not to be blamed or chastised or insulted for their service,” Varnell told commissioners. “They should be held in high honor for the valor they displayed. It was wrong to blame soldiers for a war that they were asked to serve in. It was wrong to remove a memorial to the valor of those soldiers from this very own community. The memorial needs to be put back up in a location held in high esteem.”

Varnell, an Elm City resident, described commissioners’ May 20 decision to relocate the Wilson County Memorial Fountain as a “knee-jerk” reaction to an act of vandalism.

The 1926 monument, which features an engraving of the American flag and Confederate battle flag, has been a source of controversy over the years, but the issue came to a head in recent months. Some residents called for its removal while others insisted it should stay.

The monument originally included a water fountain with two facets labeled for “White People” and “Colored People.” The fountains were removed in 1960.

Commissioners convened on May 19 for budget discussions, and the decision to remove the monument was announced after an unrelated closed session, county officials said.

In early May, the monument was vandalized with spray paint covering the Confederate battle flag. The paint appeared just days after a rally was held urging county leaders to remove the memorial.

Varnell questioned the timing of commissioners’ decision. He said the board should have discussed the matter during a regular monthly meeting so residents could voice their opinions.

The monument, dedicated on Nov. 11, 1926, was erected by the John W. Dunham Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Thomas Hadley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The memorial was a joint effort between the UDC and the DAR to honor Wilson County soldiers of all wars.

‘NO PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE’

The monument was taken down piece by piece on May 21. County officials said the cost estimate for the work was $13,000.

At the time of its removal from the courthouse square, County Manager Ron Hunt told the Times the monument would be moved to a county storage space.

“No plans have been made at this time to do anything with the monument,” Hunt told the Times on Tuesday. “It will remain in storage for safekeeping for the time being.”

County officials haven’t disclosed the monument’s location.

A 2015 state law regulates how local governments can relocate monuments owned by private parties and displayed on public property. Preserving the monument is one of the requirements.

“An object of remembrance that is permanently relocated shall be relocated to a site of similar prominence, honor, visibility, availability and access that (is) within the boundaries of the jurisdiction from which it was relocated,” N.C. General Statute 100-2.1 says. “An object of remembrance may not be relocated to a museum, cemetery or mausoleum unless it was originally placed at such a location.”

‘IT’S WILSON COUNTY SOLDIERS’

Varnell said he believes the memorial should be returned to its original location or be displayed alongside the other veteran memorials on the courthouse square.

“Right now, it’s like they’ve been stuck in a closet, that they are ashamed of them,” Varnell said after the meeting. “I really feel like they insulted the soldiers. The memorial was for soldiers, not the government, not to a Confederate government. It’s Wilson County soldiers.”

Wilson County resident Beth Boykin went a step further. She questioned whether the monument’s removal was legal.

“They broke the law by taking it down,” she said.

Hunt said the monument’s relocation was within the scope of the law. He cited the vandalism as a major contributing factor in the decision, saying the county wanted to protect the memorial from damage.

“By state law, we have to protect the monument,” he said.

‘MORE INFORMATIVE, LESS CONTROVERSIAL’

Retired U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Steve Daughtridge of Hubert spoke during the public comment session. He said he served in more than 56 countries in good times and in bad times for 37 “continuous years.”

“Sometimes things get taken out of context when they’re not more broadly looked at,” he said. “As a veteran, I think we should learn from all wars and with the insight of ‘Look how far we’ve come.”

Daughtridge said he knows there was a “plaque removed.”

He wondered if there’s a way “to make it more informative and less controversial so that all the veterans of all the wars could be honored,” such as expanding the monument’s dedication to include all veterans from both sides of the Civil War along with Wilson County residents who were enslaved.

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