Chicopee World War II Monument - Chicopee, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 08.868 W 072° 35.598
18T E 698861 N 4668990
The Chicopee World War II Monument is located on the northeast corner of Memorial Green at Front Street and Bonneville Avenue in Chicopee, MA.
Waymark Code: WMGMB5
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 03/19/2013
Views: 2
The 8' tall Chicopee World War II Memorial is one of five other monuments in Chicopee's Memorial Green. It has a complex design and contains a wealth of information.
A large granite sculpture of the World War II honorable discharge emblem rests on top of a partial globe showing the northern hemisphere which, in turn, rests on a circular granite disk. Below the disk, five equidistant granite tablets jut out from the center of the monument. Each pair of facing tablets honors a different branch of the military: Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, with details about the contributions they made during World War II. The tablets rest on a circular granite base which rests on a circular concrete footing. The monument contains the following inscriptions:
The front of the honorable discharge emblem is inscribed:
CITIZENS OF CHICOPEE REMEMBER WORLD WAR II
The back of the honorable discharge emblem is inscribed:
{Image of the honorable discharge emblem}
THIS MONUMENT DEDICATED BY
THE CITIZENS OF CHICOPEE IN HONOR
OF ALL WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES
OF THE UNITED STATES DURING WORLD WAR TWO.
THIS EMBLEM WITH THE SPREAD EAGLE
WAS AWARDED TO ALL HONORABLY DISCHARGED
SERVICE PERSONNEL. THE SMALL LAPEL PIN
WAS PROUDLY WORN BY ALL VETERANS.
IT WAS AND IS STILL CALLED "THE RUPTURED DUCK"
BY ALL WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS.
DEDICATED
SEPT. 24, 1993
The circular disk beneath the globe is inscribed:
* LET US KEEP FOREVER LIVING THE FREEDOM FOR WHICH THEY SERVED
The pair of tablets honoring the U.S. Army contain images of the Army insignia, a Trojan soldier, the Nurse Corps insignia, and the inscriptions:
U.S. ARMY
PACIFIC THEATRE
PEARL HARBOR PHILIPPINE ISLAND DEC. 08-1941
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA ALEUTIAN, GILBERT MARSHALL
ISLANDS LEYTE OKINAWA GUADALCANAL
SAILING TO INVADE JAPAN 1945
EUROPEAN THEATRE
ALGERIA-FRENCH MOROCCO NOV. 08-1942 TUNISIA
SICILY NAPLES-FOGGIA ITALY SURRENDERED SEPT. 08-1943
SALERNO ANZIO MONTE CASSINO ROME NORMANDY
D-DAY JUNE 06-1044 BATTLE OF THE BULGE PARIS
RHINELAND BERLIN GERMANY SURRENDERED MAY 08-1945
END OF WWII IN EUROPE
SOLDIERS 8,267,958 LOST 234,874 109 FROM CHICOPEE
U.S. WOMEN'S ARMY
AUXILIARY CORPS
(WAAC) 05-1942 BECAME WOMEN'S ARMY CORPS (WAC)
07-01-1943 150,000 ENLISTED 8,000 SERVED IN EUROPE
5,500 IN THE PACIFIC
BECAME PART OF REGULAR ARMY 10-20-1978
U.S. ARMY
NURSE CORPS
60,000+ SERVED IN EVERY THEATRE OF WAR
LANDED IN NORTH AFRICA & EUROPE
200+ LOST THEIR LIVES
The pair of tablets honoring the U.S. Marine Corp contain images of the Marine Corp insignia and the inscriptions:
U.S. MARINE CORPS
MAJOR EVENTS
PEARL HARBOR WAKE ISLAND BATAAN CORREGIDOR
GUADALCANAL MAKIN RAID NEW GEORGIA CHOISEUL RAID
BOUGAINVILLE TARAWA CAPE GLOUCESTER ROI NAMUR
ENIWETOK TALASEA EMIRAU SAIPAN GUAM TINIAN
PELELIU PHILIPPINES IWO JIMA OKINAWA
OCCUPIED JAPAN 08-30-1945 & CHINA 09-30-1945
SERVED 475,604 LOST 24,511 8 FROM CHICOPEE
U.S. MARINE CORPS
WOMEN'S RESERVE
ESTABLISHED 06-30-1942 20,000 SERVED
STATE SIDE & HAWAII
DEMOBLIZED 09-01-1946
The pair of tablets honoring the U.S. Navy contain images of the Navy insignia, an anchor, rope and propeller, the Nurse Corps insignia, and the inscriptions:
U.S. NAVY
PATROL ATLANTIC OCEAN SEPT. 1939-MAY 1945
PEARL HARBOR DEC. 07-1941 CORAL SEA
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS MIDWAY PHILIPPINE SEA LEYTE
TOOK PART IN EVERY INVASION IN ALL THEATRES
OF WAR. WWII ENDED WHEN JAPAN SIGNED SURRENDER
PAPERS ABOARD THE U.S.S. MISSOURI SEPT. 02 1945
SAILORS 3,380,817 SERVED LOST 157 SHIPS & 36,950 MEN
45 FROM CHICOPEE
U.S. MERCHANT MARINE LOST 866 SHIPS & 6,895 MEN
2 FROM CHICOPEE
U.S. NAVY
WAVES
PRES. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGNED AN ORDER
ON 07-30-1942 CREATING THE WOMEN ACCEPTED
FOR VOLUNTEER SERVICE - WAVES - SERVING
AT ALL NAVAL STATIONS IN THE USA & IN HAWAII
MORE THAN 100,000 SERVED
U.S. NAVY
NURSE CORPS
14,000 SERVED STATE SIDE & THE PACIFIC ISLANDS
BATAAN CORREGIDOR IWO JIMA OKINAWA
The pair of tablets honoring the U.S. Coast Guard contain images of the Coast Guard insignia and the inscriptions:
U.S. COAST GUARD
ACTIVATED 11-01-1941 BECAME PART OF THE NAVY
TOOK PART IN EVERY EUROPEAN & PACIFIC INVASION -
MANNED 351 NAVY SHIPS 288 ARMY VESSELS
802 CUTTERS
231,000 SERVED WITH 1918 CASUALTIES 2 FROM CHICOPEE
RETURNED TO THE TREASURY DEPT. 01-01-1946
U.S. COAST GUARD
WOMEN'S RESERVE CORPS (SPARS)
MORE THAN 10,000 SERVED STATE SIDE.
& IN ALASKA & HAWAII
ORGANIZED 11-23-1942 DEMOBILIZED 06-30-1946
The pair of tablets honoring the U.S. Army Air Force and the Army Air Corps and contains wings images of the Army Air Corps insignia, pilot wings, and the inscriptions:
UNITED STATES ARMY
AIR FORCE
CREATED JUNE 20, 1941 BY GEN. GEORGE C. MARSHALL
DIVIDED INTO 16 NUMBERED AIR FORCES
STATIONED AROUND THE WORLD
5 CONTINENTAL USA 7 PACIFIC 4 EUROPE
FLEW MISSIONS IN EVERY THEATRE OF WAR
DROPPED MEN, EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES IN ALL INVASIONS
B-29 DROPPED THE "A" BOMBS AUG. 6-9, 1945
ON HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI ENDING WORLD WAR II
WOMEN'S AIR FORCE
SERVICE PILOTS (WASPS)
FORMED 08-1943
OTHER WOMEN GROUPS IN AIR FORCE
WOMEN'S AUX FERRYING SQUADRON (WAFS)
FORMED 09-1942
U.S.A.A.F AIRWAC'S 07-01-1943
1,074 WOMEN FERRIED NEW PLANES
& FLEW TARGET PLANES
38 LOST THEIR LIVES