World War II Mantua cannon to be rededicated Saturday afternoon

Ravenna Record-Courier
·1 min read
The World War II cannon outside Mantua Village Hall will be rededicated Saturday. David Pifer, service officer of Mantua American Legion Post 193, and Mantua-Shalersville Firefighter Tim Benner, shown by the cannon last January, worked this year to raise funds for an informational plaque on the gun and a plaque honoring local residents killed in action.

The public is invited when the Village of Mantua and Mantua American Legion Post 193 rededicate the cannon on the Village Hall lawn, 4650 West High St., on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The gun, a three-inch, anti-tank weapon, was used during World War II. The Army sold it in 1947 after welding its moving parts to make it inoperable.

The village and post have been raising money this year to install two plaques, one on the gun and the other bearing the names of local residents who were killed in action to accompany a KIA plaque that was installed just after the armistice that ended fighting during the Korean War in 1953.

In 2021, there was a fundraising effort for a KIA memorial at Hillside Cemetery, where the Memorial Day ceremonies are held.

The five residents honored include Air Force Cpl. Ellis L. Marsh Jr., killed July 21, 1944; Navy Reserve AMM Jack R. Van Benschoten, killed Feb. 17, 1945; Army Capt. Claude H. Crafts, killed Aug. 30, 1945; Marine Lance Cpl. Kenneth R. Keefer; killed June 7, 1967 and Army Spc. 4 Robert W. Zoller II, killed July 2, 1970.

More: Lest we forget: Mantua honoring those who gave lives for their country with new memorial

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: World War II Mantua cannon to be rededicated Saturday afternoon