It’s a matter of respect for those who served and sacrificed.
That’s what Brackenridge American Legion Commander Frank Svitek said Thursday as workers reassembled the honor roll memorial across the street in Brackenridge Memorial Park.
The 54-year-old memorial’s bronze pieces were cleaned and restored after being vandalized in February. They included two large plates each weighing more than 500 pounds and bearing the names of more than 1,100 of the borough’s veterans from both World Wars and the Korean War.
Mike Boso, owner of Mike’s Bronze Restoration in Finleyville, said he sandblasted the bronze to remove silver spray paint and black caulking that the still-unknown vandal or vandals had applied. Then he applied a background finish and highlighted and polished each name.
Two names were added — Joseph “Bud” Myers and Stephen Rovnanik. An incorrect first name was changed for Alfred E. George, which had said Albert instead of Alfred.
A spelling error in Paul R. Rovnanik’s name also was fixed, and a letter for Clarence W. Gillespie was repaired.
Boso said he also fixed a crack in the left-side plate.
The work took about a week and a half.
“It turned out really nice,” he said. “I’m really pleased with it.”
While Boso worked on the bronze pieces at his shop, FPF/Conidi Landscaping & Construction cleaned and repaired the memorial’s stone and brick and rebuilt the planter at its base.
The Brackenridge Improvement Group is covering nearly all of the work’s $12,000 to $13,000 cost with donations.
The memorial will be rededicated during Memorial Day services that begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, Svitek said.
