Branford’s Tributes to World War I Veterans

World War I ended 98 years ago today, on Nov. 11, 1918, but it is commemorated in the center of Branford and in Stony Creek where one of the nation’s most famous veterans lived.

J. Andre Smith, a World War I veteran, a noted military artist and an architect, designed the town’s largest World War I monument, the cenotaph, at 1019 Main St. Carved in Stony Creek granite is ​“Pro Patria 1917 – 1918,” just below a Distinguished Service Cross.

According to Stony Creek resident and former First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos, Smith (pictured) was commissioned to design the Distinguished Service Cross as well.

“He [Smith] also designed the cenotaph,” said DaRos, ​“and that originally was supposed to be an amphitheater. It would have been a place to gather — like a memorial. That part was never materialized and was never really, truly completed.”

President Woodrow Wilson commissioned Smith, the admired World War I artist, to create the monument, according to the plaque that sits to its left. It was dedicated to those World War 1 servicemen who gave their lives for their country and are buried in a foreign land. 

The Branford Review reported that when Smith was a young officer training at Camp Plattsburgh, he suffered an injury that would lead to the amputation of his right leg, which caused him pain for the remainder of his life.

The injury inspired the most productive period of time in Smith’s life. He continued to sketch often and his etchings earned him a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Expedition in 1915.

Smith’s early life, however, began in Hong Kong, where he was born in 1880. When his father died, his mother moved the family to Germany. Eventually, the family settled in the Pine Orchard section of town. 

According to the Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library website, Smith studied architecture at Cornell University and designed several buildings, which included his home in Stony Creek.

The Cenotaph

According to the plaque, the cenotaph was originally erected in May 1923 by a committee of local citizens, but was restored in 2006 by the Branford Historical Society.

The restoration project called for the monument walls to be cleaned with an eco-friendly formula and grout spaces cut and removed using chisels. The existing lettered stone was removed, resurfaced, and re-lettered in a matching font and the cross was re-detailed, according to the Branford Review. The total cost of renovation was about $35,000.

The fall 2006 Branford Historical Society newsletter says lighting, a bronze plaque with a brief history of the Cenotaph, and an Accolade flowering cherry tree were added to the newer renovations.

Companies in the Branford area worked on the refurbishing of the monument.

DaRos said the refurbishing of the monument was mainly a ​“clean up,” and the Civil War monument in Stony Creek was part of the job also.

Down in the Creek

The second of the town’s World War I monuments is in Stony Creek.

“Peter Banca’s parents were caretakers at his [Smith’s] place here in Stony Creek. He [Smith] also had a museum down in Florida, and I believe they were the caretakers for that as well,” said DaRos.

Peter Banca, the caretaker’s son, still lives with his family in the house his mother received as a gift. The home is tucked away in Stony Creek at 15 West Point Road and is near the second of the World War I monuments. This 3‑foot-tall monument is across from the Willoughby Wallace library at 146 Thimble Island Road. 

Three plaques are affixed to the monument: one from the revolutionary war, one from the Civil War and in the center, one from World War I. On either side of the center memorial are two stone plaques filled with the names of troops who died in the Vietnam War and World War II.

Each plaque displays an honor roll of those who have passed on from each war. The center plaque is inscribed with the names of 36 World War I veterans:

They are:

Frank P. Ablondi
Maynard L. Allen
Joseph Anderson
Rocco V. Barba
Claude R. Bishop
George A. Bishop
Clifford J. Collins
Joseph M. Gollopy
R. Stanley Dower
William S. Fearn
Francis C. Garmany
Lamar Garmany
Frederick George
William H. George
Frank Grandel
Floyd I. Hinkley
Joseph P. Jenkin
I. Mason Klock
J. Peter Lew
Duncan McArthur
Daniel F. McAvoy
Walfred A. Melander
George T.F. Milne
James Milne Jr.
Martin P. Northam
Giuseppe Romagnoli
Earl Ross
Harry C. Ross
John Ross
Albert G. Soderstrom
Rollin P. Sondergeld
Eugene P. Sullivan
Leo V. Sullivan
William J. Symonds
John Wood
C. Edgar Zeender

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