![]() The nonprofit Kemper Memorial Park Preservation Fund is established to raise funds to: i. Moore points out in his essay points out how over a million African Americans contributed to the defense of our country in World War II even though faced with discrimination in the armed forces. His grandfather is present at the reward ceremony when he receives his reward and then reads his essay. ![]() ![]() Cross writes about his grandfather who was shot down while flying a B-17 over Austria in 1944. William Moore and Robert Cross win the Fifth Annual Richard Kemper Memorial Essay Contest. Ellen writes that the Kemper Memorial brings “to life the many young people who fought and died in WWII.” The First Richard Kemper Memorial Essay Contest Award Ceremony takes place. Through the introduction of Richard Kemper’s letters and memory in Mamaroneck classes, the memorial will hopefully cease to drift into obscurity.” Minor will use Richard Kemper’s letters in her American history classes and perhaps lead a visit to the park, itself. Although this proposal has not been effected this year, Ms. Paul Cantor has suggested that Mamaroneck High School sponsor an essay contest in which students would either research one name on the monument or write an essay on the values for which the men sacrificed themselves. Adolph Kemper reminded those present that there is no justification for the destruction of war and, furthermore, that the values for which his son and his son’s contemporaries gave their lives ought not be forgotten. Kemper Memorial Park should preserve and uphold those values for the future classes of MHS. The speeches given at the memorial’s dedication upheld the values for which the men died: liberty, justice and peace. Adolph Kemper then donated the park and monument to the school district. In 1946, the Kempers purchased land adjacent to the high school, constructed a park and erected a granite monument bearing about one hundred names of Gold Star men from Mamaroneck and Larchmont. Adolph and Helen Kemper, Richard’s parents, saved his letters for posterity, but they felt they should do more to preserve the memories of their son and the other men who lost their lives in World War II. Excited to be in command at the Battle of the Hedgerows, of which he wrote to his parents, Richard Kemper was fatally wounded by an exploding shell during battle on August 6, 1944. In the summer of 1944, Richard arrived in Normandy. The letters are a valuable testimony of Richard Kemper’s experiences before his request to be sent to the front lines. In his letters home, Lieutenant Kemper wrote on subjects ranging from war to the quirks of British schoolchildren. After the outbreak of World War II, Richard Kemper joined the war effort and was stationed in Britain as an office worker. ![]() The yearbook of that year praised “Dick” as a most affable young man. Richard Kemper, for whom the memorial was named and dedicated, graduated from Mamaroneck High School with the class of 1937. With his and Mamaroneck High School Social Studies teacher Lorna Minor’s help in providing invaluable letters and newspaper articles, I have pieced together the forgotten history of the Kemper Memorial. Paul Cantor, a grandson of the memorial’s founders, posed the question first. Why, then, do so few people know it exists? Mr. “Anyone driving through Mamaroneck on the Boston Post Road passes the granite monument between the high school parking lot and the street. Uncovering the Kemper Memorial, an article in Mamaroneck High School student newspaper by Adam Bisno, explains:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |