Restoration work is underway at the Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston.

“This is a day we have been waiting for quite a while,” said Charles Pull, a Norway resident, who was walking around the park observing the damage. “This is hallowed ground here. It’s all about veterans whether they’re dead or alive. This is a veterans park and this is hallowed ground for anyone who served in our military.”

The park was damaged in the flooding of the Androscoggin River from the storms last December. The stones bearing the names of Lewiston veterans were knocked down by the floods, while surrounding benches were damaged.

According to Jerry DeWitt, chairman of the L&A Veterans Council, the project will cost $180,000 to restore the park. DeWitt says the city of Lewiston has applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding that will cover 90% of the project.

DeWitt says the FEMA funding will go towards purchasing dirt.

“It means a lot to me because I was on the first stone,” said DeWitt. “It means a lot to the 7,000 Maine veterans whose names are on those stones down there.” 

Before the project commenced, a ceremony was held by the L&A Veterans Council, American Rental Association Foundation and the Toro Company. During the ceremony, the American Rental Association Foundation and Toro Company awarded the Veterans Council with $20,000 towards the project.

On Monday, 40 volunteers helped build a road for a crane to lift the Jeep monument out of the park. DeWitt says this will be happening on Tuesday, May 21.

“We want the place to look the way it did,” said DeWitt. “It was a beautiful crown jewel of the city of Lewiston when you come across the bridge. That’s the first thing you see.”

DeWitt says the city hopes to have enough work done by the Fourth of July so it can be open to the public. However, DeWitt says he expects the park and monuments to be fully restored by Veterans Day.