South Boston's USS Kearsarge Memorial Rededicated After 92 Years Without Restoration

BOSTON — July 20, 2026 — South Boston's USS Kearsarge Memorial rededicated after 92 years without restoration. Acting DCR Commissioner Stephanie Cooper presided over a Flag Day ceremony at Marine Park attended by Governor Charlie Baker, Mayor Michelle Wu, and U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch, marking the completion of a roughly three-year rehabilitation of the 1930 naval anchor monument. The project was funded through a combination of grants, DCR matching funds, the City of Boston's Community Preservation Committee, and private neighborhood donors — identified by State Representative David Beal as Kelly O'Shea, Dave Mateo, Dave Winnick, Mike McGaw, and Jim O'Donohue — who stepped in when costs ran high. The restored memorial retains the original 1,900-pound anchor on a new pedestal and now carries two plaques: one recreating the original 1930 dedication to veterans of the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I, and one new plaque rededicating the monument to Naval veterans of all wars. South Boston Allied War Veterans Council Commander Dave Falvey, whose five-year tenure drove the project, was praised by nearly every speaker; restoration artist Robert Schur of Skylight Studios executed the conservation work, and USS Constitution Commander Billy Farrell led the formal rededication.