HALLOWELL — Granite City veterans deserved something better than a run-down wooden sign outside the post office.

So American Legion Goodrich-Caldwell Post 6 took down the World War II Honor Roll last fall as they prepared to recognize Hallowell veterans in a more fitting way.

They’ll unveil the new monument — 6 feet tall, 15 feet wide and composed of three slabs of granite — in the Legion Park section of the Hallowell Cemetery following Monday’s Memorial Day parade.

Even though Memorial Day honors the war dead, the monument honors veterans, both living and deceased, of conflicts dating back to the Spanish American War at the end of the 19th century. It features more than 650 names, with room for more to be added.

“We got to the point where it was deteriorating faster than we could keep it up, so we said we need a permanent memorial to the veterans,” said Arthur Moore, co-chairman of the post’s monument committee.

The events in Hallowell are part of a weekend of commemoration around the region, including with a wreath-laying in the Kennebec River on Saturday at Augusta’s East Side Boat Landing park.

Most other events are scheduled for Monday, including observances in Gardiner, Litchfield, Whitefield and at Togus VA National Cemetery.

Hallowell’s parade will step off at 9:45 a.m. Monday from the Legion Hall, near the corner of Second and Central streets, and end at the cemetery, with observances a the Civil War monument and the dedication of the new monument, which replaces and expands on the wooden signboard dismantled last year.

A sign honoring World War II veterans was placed outside the post office in 1945. After blowing down in a windstorm, it was replaced in 1993, but time and weather took a toll.

Seed money for the project came from late post member Gene Lockyer, a World War II Navy medic who left $10,000 to the Goodrich-Caldwell Post for any use it wished.

The monument, made by Provost Monuments of Benton, cost about $30,000, committee member Dick Hawkins said. Post members solicited donations and organized fundraising events to raise the rest of the money.

Post members collected names for the monument by taking a census of the Hallowell Cemetery, looking through city records and relying on word-of-mouth. The veterans had to live in Hallowell when they entered the service.

“One guy said, ‘I know this guy, and I know this guy, and I know this guy,’ and we would get in touch with all those people,” Moore said.

The ceremony at the cemetery on Monday will feature remarks by Mayor Charlotte Warren and the co-chairs of Hallowell’s 250th Anniversary Committee; music from the Hall-Dale High School Band; and a Memorial Day address by Earle Shettleworth.

The Goodrich-Caldwell post is named for a World War I veteran and the Caldwell family, which lost three sons in World War II. Moore said the last of the Caldwells’ nine children, Jennie Caldwell Bowman, who lives in Palmyra, will help with the unveiling, and other members of the family have been invited.

Moore said post members were more motivated to create a permanent memorial after seeing towns such as Farmingdale, Randolph and West Gardiner erect their own.

The group has gotten a large response from veterans of Hallowell — some who live in California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Moore said.

“They’re just thrilled that their relatives, their husband, their father or so forth, will be included.” he said.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

[email protected]

MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATIONS

* Augusta: Saturday, 11 a.m., East Side Boat Landing.

* Belgrade, Monday, 10 a.m., Old Town House.

* Dresden, Monday, 11 a.m., Pownalborough Courthouse, Lincoln County Historical Association 58th Memorial Day service.

* Gardiner: Monday, parade at 10 a.m. followed by a dedication ceremony at The Common.

* Hallowell: Monday, parade at 9:45 a.m. from the Legion hall ending at the cemetery, with observances a the Civil War monument and the dedication of a new monument.

* Litchfield, Monday, parade, 9 a.m., leaving from the Litchfield Fire Station; ceremony to follow at 10 a.m. at Litchfield Plains Cemetery.

* Monmouth: Monday, first parade will be held at 9 a.m. at North Monmouth Community Church, and second parade at 10:30 a.m., at Cumston Hall on Main Street in Monmouth. A memorial service at the monument follows.

* Sidney: Monday, parade and celebration, 8-10:30 a.m., Blake Road

* VA Maine Healthcare System Memorial Day observance: Monday, 8 a.m., Togus VA National Cemetery.

* Whitefield: Monday, Annual Memorial Day Program, 10 a.m., Whitefield Town House.