Excellent Idea

April 5, 2011

Sturbridge room will be named after Iwo Jima hero

STURBRIDGE —  Selectmen last night endorsed a proposal to name one of the Town Hall’s conference rooms in honor of Sturbridge’s only recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Veterans Service Director Thomas A. Chamberland proposed naming the second floor rear conference room at Town Hall in honor of Marine Platoon Sgt. Joseph “Rudy” Julian. Sgt. Julian, the town’s only Medal of Honor winner, died at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

According to the proposal, the room will be named Platoon Sergeant Joseph “Rudy” Julian Conference Room.

In addition, Mr. Chamberland proposed the front conference room be named the Minuteman Conference Room in honor of the legacy of the town’s respondents to the call to arms at the start of the Revolutionary War.

Mr. Chamberland said dedication plaques would cost $3,000 for the Julian Conference Room and $1,385 for the Minuteman Conference Room. An article to appropriate money from the Community Preservation Fund for the project is on the annual town meeting warrant June 6.

Mr. Chamberland said he has support from local veterans groups as well as the town’s historical commission and historical society. The goal is to hold a dedication ceremony on Veterans Day, he said.

— Craig S. Semon