World War II Monument being rebuilt after being damaged
SPRING BROOK TOWNSHIP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — On this day we celebrate freedom. A Spring Brook Township man is honoring those who fought for our freedom by restoring a World War II Monument that was damaged.
After a car crash damaged the monument last fall, Bob Kuniegle has dedicated his time and effort to rebuilding it from the ground up.
“These guys are heroes,” says Kuniegle.
Bob Kuniegle lived on this land for about 45 years, and it came with a World War II Monument.
“Mildred Dykeman, who owned the property and the bar on the corner built a monument, and put all of the people from Spring Brook Township that served in World War II there in ’79,” said Kuniegle.
In the fall of 2023, a car crashed and damaged the surrounding structure.
“A car was coming down and hit this concrete wall and broke. It actually knocked a piece off there,” added Kuniegle.
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Kuniegle took it upon himself to restore the entire monument and protect it by building a wall.
“If I don’t do it no one else is going to do it, where the monument was sitting, and if that wall wasn’t there, it would be destroyed by a car someday,” stated Kuniegle.
The project will be done in phases.
“We’re gonna get the monument on this pedestal here and get a backdrop and get it shadowed by some blue stone,” continued Kuniegle.
Another phase will be doing research to add backstories of the 79 veterans on the wall.
“I wanna gather as much history as I can about the people and put plaques or something on the top of this wall back here saying what these people did,” said Kuniegle.
For Bob, this monument isn’t just a piece of history it’s a tribute to the brave men and women who served in World War II. One of those men was his great-uncle.
“We have to honor the sacrifices the people made, my uncle, my great uncle Billy served in World War II he was 39 years old with two children when he was drafted. That’s history, its really interesting plus you can gain wisdom from history knowing what’s going on,” explained Kuniegle.
Bob says he’d appreciate any help he can get in the restoration, whether it is helping to do research or helping with the physical labor of the project.
If you’re interested he can be reached at 570-550-2235.
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