The Newbury Veterans Park has a new addition: a monument honoring three Newbury High School graduates who lost their lives in two different wars.
The Newbury Veterans Park has a new addition: a monument honoring three Newbury High School graduates who lost their lives in two different wars.
They were Joseph Teichman, Class of 1936, who was killed in fighting in Tunisia on March 23, 1943; Eugene Wojnowski, Class of 1940, whose plane was destroyed in the bombings of Dresden on March 31, 1945; and Lee Scurlock, class of 1961, who was shot and killed while boarding an evacuation helicopter in the jungles of Vietnam on Dec. 21, 1967.
The memorial is a large piece of sandstone with a bronze plaque bearing their names and dates of death. The project was a labor of love by Newbury residents Marty and Sue Mullet, who spent years researching the history and who designed and paid for the monument.
“It was just something we had to do,” explained Sue. “I just thought about the Newbury High School graduates who had died in wars and not many people knew about them. We needed to remember them and their sacrifice.”
Sue knew of Wojnowski, who had been her mother’s first husband, but she had no idea how many other young Newbury men had gone off to war and not returned. She and her husband researched records, interviewed veterans and tracked down family members, which she said was a lengthy process.
“Not many World War II veterans are left who would know anything,” she said. “We knew we were running out of time to find people who knew the answers. We were afraid we had missed someone and didn’t want anyone to be left out.”
When they were convinced they had located all the names and information, they tracked down family members and collected details about the men’s service.
“For example, Teichman was a farm boy, whose dad tried to get him a deferment because farming was considered an essential industry,” she said. “Joseph refused, wanting to do his duty. These boys were very young and had no idea what war was like, or that they risked being killed.”
Wojnowski volunteered for one last bombing run, shortly before the war ended, when his plane was hit and his parachute failed to open.
Scurlock was the last one boarding a rescue helicopter when he was shot and fell into the jungle. His body was never found.
“People need to know who they were,” Sue said.
So the couple paid about $1,000 for the bronze plaque. Local company Van Ness Stone donated the large slab of sandstone.
“We wanted something rugged, timeless and natural looking — not like a tombstone,” she said.
The Mullets paid about $450 to mount the plaque onto the stone. It is located between the gazebo and a walking path.
“There is room on the rock for more names if we find another one,” Sue said. “We don’t want anyone left out. This was just something we wanted to do. These young men needed to be remembered. Time softens memories. Newbury is evolving and this way, people will know who they were. We hope other communities will do this, too.”
She said Newbury Township Trustees, who approved the project, plan to hold a dedication ceremony next year on Memorial Day.
“Someone thought maybe Veterans’ Day in November, but I think Memorial Day is more appropriate,” she said.
The last line on the monument reads, simply: “They Shall Not Grow Old.”
