Orleans Veterans Committee Votes to Advance Korean War Memorial Bronze Plaque Design

ORLEANS — February 4, 2026 — Orleans veterans committee votes to move forward with Korean War Memorial bronze plaque as name count nears 200. The Veterans Memorial Park Committee voted 3-0 at its February 4 meeting to authorize the design of a bronze relief plaque for the Korean War Memorial, featuring Marines retreating from the Chosin Reservoir as the central image, surrounded by branch-of-service imagery including a MASH-era helicopter and Coast Guard vessel. Research by the committee's 501(c)(3) partner, using Massachusetts Military Records spreadsheets from Milford, found 89 Orleans veterans of the Korean War and 110 of the Vietnam War — totaling roughly 200 names against the 120 on the original plaques, which were never sorted by theater. An additional 35 names already on the old plaques could not be matched to any state archival record, but committee Chair Kevin Higgins said the group is committed to keeping all of them: "The last thing our committee wants to do is take anybody off." The India Red granite monument base, at $25,000, was ordered before a 15 percent price increase took effect February 1. Vietnam Memorial vendor presentations are tentatively scheduled for February 16 or 17 and March 2 or 3, with a target installation date ahead of the 4th of July for the Korean War Memorial and before Veterans Day 2026 for the Vietnam Memorial.