Westmoreland County war memorial centennial anniversary celebrated

Glenn Smeltzer stood with pride in Westmoreland County Courthouse Square on Saturday as he and his son watched a ceremony a century in the making.

County officials and member of the Greensburg-based Sons of Veterans of Civil War Capt. George A. Cribbs Camp No. 276 celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Grand Army of the Republic War Monument on a gusty Saturday afternoon.

Originally dedicated in late May 1925 at the former City Hall turned Westmoreland Museum of American Art on North Main Street, it was taken down for refurbishment in 2013 and re-erected in the square in 2015.

It’s estimated to weigh at least 20 tons with a granite base about two-stories tall and a 6-foot-5-inch bronze statue of a Union soldier at the top.

“I grew up in Greensburg and remember when it was up there (at City Hall),” Smeltzer said. “My greatest fear was they were just going to demolish it (and) get rid of it. I’m happy that it’s here.”

Smeltzer is the great grandson of Capt. Cribbs, who served in Company I of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.

“Most of the men in the Hempfield/Greensburg area were recruited as Company I,” Smeltzer explained. “Each company had 100 men and a regiment was, like, 1,000 men, theoretically. The 11th was one of the more famous regiments in the Civil War. They were the oldest regiment by the end of the war.”

The regiment lost 417 men in the war, mostly due to combat and others to disease, according to the National Park Service.

Several camp members Saturday dressed in Union Army garb, including muskets, four-button sack coats that served as combat fatigues, and frock coats that were part of the formal dress uniform.

Camp Memorial Officer Rick Bowen said the attire was another way for them to pay tribute to the soldiers.

Ceremony activities

Camp Commander Bill Bray played a recording of the national anthem and led attendees in the pledge of allegiance.

He said it would be a very different county if it were not for Union soldiers.

“Through their lives we exist,” Bray said.

Westmoreland County Director of Veterans Affairs Matt Zamosky was quick on his feet and caught an American flag that was being blown over during the invocation by Camp Graves Registration Officer Rob Myers.

The camp’s framed charter on display by the podium fell over several times but remained undamaged.

Westmoreland County Commissioner Douglas Chew delivered a proclamation and spoke about how memorials like the one in Greensburg are a reminder that freedom is never free.

“We also recognize today that from the earliest days of this country, Americans have always built memorials and statues to the brave men and women that sacrificed everything for the peace and tranquility that we enjoy today,” Chew said.

“Early Americans rose to any challenge to honor the fallen. The Westmoreland County Monument Association started in 1865 to raise funds for this particular memorial here. After 60 years of effort this was the fruit of their labor.

“At that time our great nation had undergone involvement in another war, World War I. And so this memorial took on new meaning as a way to remember the heroism and bravery of all Westmoreland County veterans not just those that served to protect the Union.”

Camp historian Eric Wible said the original memorial had etched into it years and wars from the Revolutionary War through World War I.

It also featured four cannons and cannon balls that were taken and repurposed years later for their metal during World War II, according to Zamosky.

Zamosky went on to talk about how moving the monument, also called the “Soldier Statute,” to the courthouse square further solidified inclusion of all soldiers.

“We had talked about several locations, but it was important to move him to a county property because, since the dedication, he had been on Greensburg soil,” Zamosky said. “The monument was supposed to be to honor the service Westmoreland County veterans.

“It was important to our committee that he stand on soil that belonged to all county residents and not one city or another.”

More dates and wars were etched into the monument as the years went on to stretch its remembrance of soldiers in major conflicts through Desert Storm.

Wible said no one knows who made the additional inscriptions, but it must have been by a professional as it matches the original font.

“It’s a mystery we’ve been working on for years,” Wible said, who made the pitch at a recent camp meeting to have a 100th anniversary ceremony.

A Chicago artist made the statue and his son is believed to have been the model. No one at the ceremony knew the artist or son’s name.

Camp Memorial Officer Rick Bowen read the poem “A Monument for the Soldiers” by James Whitcomb Riley. He also played taps.

Smeltzer’s son, Sean, said the ceremony was very well done. He hopes more people look upon the memorial in reverence of all Westmoreland County soldiers who served this country.

“I think it’s a great thing for the statue, itself,” Sean Smeltzer said. “I think it’s great that they moved that here a few years ago to save it, and it’s in a great spot right now.”

Glenn and Sean Smeltzer both live in Youngwood.

Only a handful of people sans participants attended the event despite it taking place near the heart of Greensburg on a weekend afternoon.

After the ceremony, Wible talked about how mother nature did not cooperate as reported in the monument’s unveiling.

“It would have been nice if the weather would have cooperated with us,” the historian said. “The accounts of the original dedication in 1925 described perfect weather, which we obviously didn’t have today. I’m sure that had a bit of an impact on attendance and everything else. Overall, I’d say it went pretty well.”

Another ceremony at the monument is being planned for November. More information is expected to be released in the coming months.