Heritage Preservation Coordinating
Assessments of Historic Monuments for
Department of Veterans Affairs

4th Army Corps Obelisk, Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN

In order to address the condition of historic monuments memorializing our nation’s war dead, the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has contracted with Heritage Preservation to assess the condition of approximately 200 memorials in VA cemeteries. Located from Augusta, Maine to San Diego, California, these monuments include simple markers, obelisks, and elaborate figures. They are made of granite, bronze, limestone, marble, and zinc.

In 2006 NCA staff and volunteers completed a comprehensive survey of the approximately 960 monuments in the 125 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers’ lots maintained by NCA at the time. This process was based on the model developed by Heritage Preservation’s Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) program in its inventory of the nation’s collection of outdoor sculpture. Now, Heritage Preservation will obtain detailed assessments and treatment plans for the most significant monuments, most of which pre-date 1945.

Wisconsin Monument, Marietta National Cemetery, Marietta, GA

Heritage Preservation will work with conservators to assess 85 monuments in 41 cemeteries in 2009. A Request for Proposals will be issued in FY2010 to assess the final group of monuments. The RFP will be posted on the Heritage Preservation Web site. To be added to the mailing list please contact lhunley(a)heritagepreservation.org.

SOS!, a project of Heritage Preservation, helps communities across the United States preserve and promote their sculpture. SOS! began in 1989 by involving 7,000 volunteers in cataloging and assessing 30,000 publicly accessible outdoor sculptures. Fifty-four percent were determined to be in critical or urgent need of conservation. The data is accessible via the Inventory of American Sculpture database at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.