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Community Corner

Remembering The Soldiers Through Memorials

Groton Mayor and Town Historian Jim Streeter Plans to Keep the Memory Of Veterans Alive Through His Upcoming Booklet Documenting Local Memorials

You can always count on Groton Mayor, forensic investigator and Town Historian Jim Streeter to have something new and interesting cooking. 

The go-to guy for Groton history has a new booklet in the works featuring monuments from Groton side of Mystic to the shores of the Thames River.

The 50 to 60 page project will recognize all historical plaques, monuments, and statues which serve as veteran memorials. 

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“There’s an old saying from Vietnam, ‘You’re not dead until you’re forgotten.’  So by documenting this we are remembering all these soldiers and civilians that gave their lives or participated in the wars of the past,” he said.

Streeter began collecting historical documents and conducting research eight months ago.  With a demanding schedule, his passion for history is propelling him to get the book done by the end of the year. 

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Groton resident and Korean War Veteran Bill Hart documented the Korean War and met with Streeter to share his knowledge of over 20 memorials in the area. Currently, Streeter has discovered about 40 Groton monuments and putting his investigative background to work, plans to uncover more.

Streeter will present some of the obvious memorials but also has researched more obscure ones such as the field house at Fitch High School dedicated to Johnny Blunt, the first Groton resident killed in Vietnam.   

Another example is a grist stone on the river at the water filtration plant at the bottom of Fort Street.  The stone is dedicated to the prisoners of war of the Battle of Fort Griswold.  

Streeter tosses in a bit of trivia, mentioning that most people might guess the Groton monument is the largest memorial in Groton. In fact, the largest is the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, dedicated in 1964 to honor New London, Groton and Waterford military who served and lost their lives in WWI, WWII and the Korean War.

In addition to the memorial book, Streeter is working on a presentation and booklet on the history of Fitch High School, and has future plans to create a booklet about the various bridges crossing the Mystic River as well as a book on Avery Point and the life of philanthropist and millionaire Morton Plant. 

“History doesn’t belong to me, it doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to everybody - so you share it with everybody," Streeter said. "That’s why documenting this is important.”

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