Plans call for Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll to be built next year
A new Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll dedicated to local heroes will be constructed in 2019 in the downtown community park at Snowden Square. Pictured at the site are, from left, Dennis Falsetto, committee chairman; Harry Zetty, committee member; and Eadie Zetty, committee secretary. At one time, the area included five honor rolls, but four have been torn down and none is located in Brownsville Borough. A Vietnam veteran, Falsetto said of the proposed honor roll, “It’s something that needed to be done.’’
A new Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll dedicated to local heroes will be constructed in 2019 in the downtown community park at Snowden Square. Pictured at the site are, from left, Harry Zetty, committee member; Eadie Zetty, committee secretary; and Dennis Falsetto, committee chairman. At one time, the area included five honor rolls, but four have been torn down and none is located in Brownsville Borough. A Vietnam veteran, Falsetto said of the proposed honor roll, "It's something that needed to be done.''
A sign foretells the building of a new Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll in 2019 that will be constructed at the downtown community park in Snowden Square. The proposed honor roll will feature five upright monuments engraved with names of local service members from within Brownsville Area School District who were killed in action or missing in action from World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and war in the Middle East.
A new Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll dedicated to local heroes will be constructed in 2019 in the downtown community park at Snowden Square. Pictured at the site are, from left, Harry Zetty, committee member; Eadie Zetty, committee secretary; and Dennis Falsetto, committee chairman.
Dedicated to local heroes, officials are anticipating the start of work on a new Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll to be built in the community park in Snowden Square next year.
“I’d like to thank everybody who helped so far – people volunteered their time and made donations,” said Dennis Falsetto, committee chairman, who noted officials were hoping to start work this fall, but the wet weather has hampered efforts.
The proposed honor roll is for all communities included in Brownsville Area School District or that have a Brownsville mailing address, including Brownsville Borough, Brownsville Township, Luzerne Township, Redstone Township, West Brownsville, Allison, Tower Hill, Low Hill, Brier Hill, Rowes Run, Grindstone, LaBelle, Isabella, Republic, Thompson, East Millsboro, Maxwell, Cardale and Hiller.
It will occupy a 50-foot-by-50-foot space between the amphitheater and Redstone Creek, a move from the original spot near Brownsville Free Public Library.
“We had to move it because we couldn’t dig down deep enough to put in the wiring for the lights,” explained Eadi Zetty, committee secretary.
The honor roll will feature five upright monuments engraved with names of local service members who were killed in action or missing in action from World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the war in the Middle East. These monuments will face the amphitheater.
Surrounding these will be a walkway of commemorative bricks engraved with any U.S. service member’s name, rank, branch of the military and years of service. Bricks can be purchased to honor any individual service member, living or deceased. The honorees don’t have to have served in combat or be from the Brownsville area. Brick prices range from $50 to $150. Only one service member can be on each brick.
Benches will be installed between the monuments, and a flagpole erected in the center will fly the American, prisoner of war and missing in action flags.
Zetty has been conducting research, searching for local names to include on the honor roll.
“I’ve gone through old Brownsville yearbooks, comparing them to the list of Fayette County dead,” said Zetty. “I’ve been learning a lot.”
The committee is asking the public to contribute any information they have on local service members killed in action or missing in action in U.S. conflicts.
Falsetto, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Army, explained Brownsville had five honor rolls at one time. They were all torn down except one in Brownsville Township. West Brownsville has two, but Brownsville Borough has none.
“It’s something that needed to be done,” Falsetto said of the new honor roll.
Harry Zetty, Eadi’s husband and a member of the committee, is among many people in the area with family members who served in the military, noting, “My brother served. My dad served. My mother’s brother was killed in action during World War II. He’s buried in Holland. Most of my uncles served.”
Connections like these are found throughout the community, which is offering support for the honor roll.
“We got a lot of donations, which helped bring the cost down,” noted Falsetto.
But the committee is continuing to raise money for the project in order to provide funds for maintenance.
“By the time we’re done, we’re hoping to raise $34,000,” said Falsetto. “With $26,000 we have now, we have enough to get started.”
Donations can be sent to Brownsville Area Military Honor Roll, P.O. Box 636, Brownsville, PA 15417. For more information on purchasing bricks, contact Falsetto at 724-366-2113 or lfalsetto@yahoo.com, or Zetty at pick-eadi@atlanticbb.net, as well as any committee member.