Veterans Monument Dedicated-September 15, 1991

Thousands Gather in Norwood to Dedicate Frank Simoni’s $500,000 “Protectors of the American Way” Veterans Monument

Waving flags, holding umbrellas against intermittent rain, and filling the town center by the thousands, Norwood residents turned out yesterday for a historic community celebration to dedicate “Protectors of the American Way,” a towering 30-foot granite and bronze veterans monument donated to the town by developer Frank Simoni.

Dedication Ceremony and Main Speaker Brig. Gen. Richard I. Neal

The centerpiece of the $500,000 monument—located on the town common at the corner of Washington and Nahatan streets—features a bronze family of three alongside a mother holding a baby atop a massive granite pedestal guarded by three bronze soldiers. Simoni, a 72-year-old veteran of World War II and the Korean War who now resides in Canton, explained that he conceived the project three years prior after traveling abroad. “I’ve seen poverty and hopelessness in these countries, and I thank God I was born in Norwood, U.S.A.,” Simoni told the crowd. “This memorial is made from the hardest and most enduring granite and it will endure hundreds of years after we’re gone.”

Marine Brig. Gen. Richard I. Neal, deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command during the Persian Gulf War and a Hull native, arrived in a State Police cruiser with his wife, Kathleen, to a rousing standing ovation. Serving as the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Neal praised the monument as a lasting tribute to military service. “You’ll have days, months, years ahead as you pass this monument and reflect on the American way,” Neal said. “The American way is the right way to my way of thinking. It’s the only way.” Neal also commended Simoni for his “judgment, dedication, integrity and courage.”

Among the dignitaries and local veterans in attendance was United States Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant George T. Curtis, a longtime Norwood resident and former Norwood recruiter who has marched in every Norwood Veterans Day and Fourth of July parade since the early 1970s. Reflecting on the town’s deep military heritage, Curtis remarked, “Norwood is such a patriotic town, and there’s so much love and respect for veterans here. The people of this town are so supportive of men and women in uniform. It’s wonderful to see.”

Pageantry, Overflights, and Past Controversy

The dedication was surrounded by classic New England patriotic pageantry. A red carpet extended from the curb to the speaker’s platform as the Norwood High School marching band, madrigal singers, the Norwood Colonial Boys fife and drum corps, and military branch color guards paraded down Washington Street. Quincy resident Leroy Lincoln Rounseville—who legally changed his name to Uncle Sam Rounseville—marched the route in full costume, while the senior citizens’ choral group The Irregulars wore red, white, and blue ribboned boaters to sing “God Bless America.” Moments before General Neal took the podium, two National Guard F-15 Eagle fighter jets roared in a low flyover directly above the monument.

Despite the universal praise yesterday—with resident Joyce DeLuca of Ridgewood Drive calling it “magnificent” and “a very generous gift”—the monument’s genesis was not without friction. When Simoni first proposed donating the statue years earlier, Selectmen John Kinnaly and Gary Lee criticized the project as “frivolous,” arguing the funds would be better directed toward practical civic needs like a children’s swimming pool. Ultimately, Town Meeting voted to accept the gift, ruling that Simoni had sole discretion over how to invest his resources. Selectmen Chairman Thomas Riolo summarized the community’s prevailing sentiment at the dedication, declaring that Norwood is now home to “the most beautiful monument… in Massachusetts, U.S.A.”

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger