Monument planning

A new monument dedicated to World War I veterans is planned for Courthouse Park in downtown Cape Girardeau near several other war monuments: the fountain on Lorimier Street that honors Union soldiers in the Civil War, another monument for Confederate veterans of that war that was moved from Morgan Oak Street when the old Mississippi River bridge was replaced, and the newest monument, a tribute to Vietnam veterans that was unveiled last year.

In addition, there are war memorials at Freedom Corner at the intersection of Broadway and West End Boulevard that lists the names of those who died in the service of their country during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The intent of the Trail of Tears chapter of VietNow, which put up the Vietnam memorial last year, is noble in wanting to erect another World War I memorial and, eventually, a memorial to the Gold Star mothers of soldiers who have died in the service of their country. But the aesthetic planning for these tributes has been lacking. The cluster of memorials developing near the fountain at Courthouse Park does little to set off the importance and impact of each monument. And, if the new World War I and Gold Star memorials are bunched in with the others, the view of the fountain and old courthouse from Lorimier Street will be inappropriately obstructed.

The newest memorial is to be unveiled during the Fourth of July Libertyfest celebration unless the Cape Girardeau County Commission, meeting this morning in Jackson, recognizes the need for a plan -- one that was promised after last year's memorial went up -- that takes into account not only the location of the monuments, but also the aesthetic impact on the surroundings.

The commission should hold off on approving the placement of this monument until such a plan is developed, one that takes into account the fact that the county's intention is to move its Cape Girardeau offices from the Common Pleas Courthouse and annex in the not-too-distant future, at which time the park and its buildings, which are leased from the Cape Girardeau, would revert to a city park with an undetermined use for the buildings.