LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Dozens of Loudoun County residents came together to dedicate a new plaque for its fallen World War I Veterans.
A plaque previously stood in the Loudoun County Courthouse square that listed the names of thirty veterans who were either killed in action, died of wounds, or passed away due to other means.
However, the old plaque, which was erected in 1921, literally segregated the veterans’ names it displayed by race. The plaque listed the names of three African-American veterans below two dividing lines. The twenty-seven other veterans’ names were listed above the lines.
Loudoun County Supervisor Mike Turner said he was made aware of the segregated plaque after a local woman named Marilyn Thornton told him about it a few years ago.
“The African-American names are segregated on the bottom of the memorial and it hurts me every time I see it,” Turner recalled Thornton saying. “And, I said, ‘I’ll look into it.'”
The county’s Foreign War Memorial Trust Fund Advisory Committee, which is comprised of members of American Legion Post 34, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1177, and retired Judge Thomas Horne then partnered with Supervisor Turner to make replace the plaque with a new one.
After two years of work, and unanimous approval of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to authorize the old plaque’s replacement, the community to see the new one on Veterans’ Day.
“Loudoun County has had some pretty bad press over the last 3 or 4 months,” Turner said. “This is Loudoun County.”
The new, 150-pound plaque now displays an unsegregated, alphabetical list of the Loudoun County veterans who died during World War I.
Gene Johnson attended the event. He is a descendent of Private Valentine B. Johnson, an African-American veteran, who is on the plaque.
“I’m glad to see this, that I’m alive to see this,” Johnson said. “I’m just overwhelmed.”
Raymond Delpesche, commander of VFW Post 1177, said most servicemen and women know they are bonded by what they fight for.
“Remember that your brother next door is the one who might be able to help you in whatever danger you might be,” he said. “So, there’s no line with color, race, or creed.”
Philip Rusciolelli, past commander VFW Post 1177, added locals should know what the dedication of the new plaque is really about.
“This is not an effort to change history ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “It is a correction of injustice.”
The new plaque was installed for $5,000. According to county officials, money from Loudoun County’s War Memorial Trust Fund was used to design and erect the new plaque. That trust fund is made up of money raised by community and veterans’ groups intended for the maintenance of war memorials in the community.
The plaque’s installation also came a year after a new law went into effect in Virginia that allowed local governing bodies to remove, relocate, or contextualize monuments for veterans of any conflict.