In my childhood hometown (Whitman, Massachusetts) there is an arch which was erected in the latter 1920's to commemorate World War I soldiers.  I've never really seen it up close for one unfortunate reason, it's in a very inaccessible spot.  Here's a map which might get this across.  The arch is the second map marker from the left.

The arch is located not far from Holy Ghost Church in Whitman center.  It's on Temple Street (route 27).  It's a very busy area.  Route 27 feeds traffic headed to and from Brockton, the large city to the west of Whitman, and intersects with Washington Street in the center of Whitman, where it ends and South Ave begins, continuing past many businesses, the town hall and library, post office, and so forth.

It's not that the arch is completely inaccessible, I mean, you could walk to it if you wanted to, but there's no really convenient parking place unless you park at the church and walk to the arch, and the traffic is dense.  And if you want to stand around and admire it, you are standing on an access road used by the ambulances for the town fire station which periodically come through the arch on their way to conduct rescues.  It wouldn't be a great spot to say, bring a group of school children to teach them about the sacrifices of our forefathers.  And with Whitman planning a new police station on Legion Parkway that would also use the same access road for police vehicles, it becomes an even less attractive spot.

I imagine that when the arch was built in the 20's the spot was probably in view of the church and was easily accessible to foot traffic.  Putting it at the entrance of the road leading to the American Legion made a lot of sense.  Now that the town has grown up around it, it's no longer such a great location.

The town is considering the possibility of disassembling the arch and moving it to a more prominent and accessible location for reassembly.  At present, the proposal is to find a nice spot in the town park for it.  As much as I have no recollection of ever visiting and contemplating this arch in my childhood (despite going to Holy Ghost church on Sundays), I have vivid memories of visiting the town park and contemplating the various structures there at length.  Putting it in the park sounds like a great idea to me.  It's a family gathering place, and it offers an accessible as well as beautiful spot for people to contemplate it, and the sacrifices of the soldiers it honors.  I mean if someone wanted to hold say, a memorial service for those lost in WWI, wouldn't it be great to do it on the town green under this arch?  As it is you certainly couldn't do it under the arch now...

There's an extremely vocal contingent of opponents to the proposed move who don't think so--veterans.  I'm quite surprised by how vehemently they want the arch to remain where it is.  The Patriot Ledger has an article about the proposal which is rife with (IMHO melodramatic) outcry from local vets:

..."To me, the town of Whitman doesn't care about veterans if they tear it down," said David Lloyd, 59, of Whitman, a Vietnam War veteran.

Lloyd, who said he has participated in Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades since he was a Cub Scout, said that if the arch is moved, he will stop marching in Whitman.

"Any person in the town should be ashamed if they tear it down," he said.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the project is necessary to safeguard emergency responders. He said relocation would also enhance the monument's appeal.

The memorial arch straddles an access road that passes a fire station ambulance garage. The road would also be the only entrance and exit for a police station that is proposed for the former National Guard armory on Legion Parkway, Lynam said.

"The arch obviously is in a precarious place in respect to the fire department's operations, because both ambulances come through the arch, and it's a tight fit," Lynam said. "It makes sense both for the safety of the monument and for people who appreciate it to move it to a more publicly accessible location, and we believe that to be the Town Park."

"It's in the best interest of the town as a whole," he said.

Buddy Aqusis of Whitman, commander of American Legion Post 22, promised fierce resistance to the proposal, which some veterans said would desecrate a landmark recognizing the war dead and those in harm's way from the past and present.

"If your father's name was on the memorial, would you want it torn down or moved?" said Aqusis.

"I'm dead set against it. It's a memorial arch. There's no way it should be moved. If they attempt it, every veteran in the state should oppose it," he said.

The memorial arch relocation is part of a special town meeting warrant article to transfer $170,000 from free cash for several capital projects.

Some Whitman veterans insisted the proposal would not come to pass.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lynam. That arch is not going to move. Tell Mr. Lynam that if he wants to move it, I'll start a petition that will drive him nuts," said E. Richard Uzzell, 59, a Vietnam veteran.

Joe Cesarini, 44, a Navy veteran who served in Lebanon, said, "They ain't going to move the arch, because I'll lay down in front of it, with a flag on me."

In January, the selectmen awarded a bid to Durland Van Voorhis of New Bedford to study the use of the armory as a police station and to report back with building recommendations and estimated costs.

On Lynam's recommendation, the selectmen formed a committee to evaluate the town's capital building needs, including Town Hall, the Holt School and the council on aging, and present a capital building plan in the fall, with an interim report at the special town meeting in May.

"The police station there is a public hazard, not the arch," said John Downey, 54, of Whitman, a Vietnam veteran.

"We have our rights being trampled on because people in government believe that the government comes first, not people," said Downey...

I suppose those vets who congregate at post 22 probably like the arch where it is because if they take the rear entrance in they would drive under it.  But the arch is a commemorative memorial, not a tombstone -- nobody is buried there, to my knowledge.  I'm really quite shocked that these veterans would be opposed to the idea of moving it to a place where the public could gather and commemorate those who served in WWI. Honestly, I would have expected veterans most of all to back this proposal, and to want to be actively involved to make sure the structure is moved in a respectful manner, and to an appropriate location.

I'm mystified by the inflammatory language, the constant references to "tearing it down", the baffling assertion that the presence of the police station is a public hazard, and the equally baffling assertion that providing good access for emergency responders is somehow putting government first.  I'm bemused that the arch's current location, choked with auto exhaust and the blaring of sirens as ambulances pass beneath it, is not itself considered denigrating to the people it commemorates.  Isn't it the arch and those it stands in memorium of that matter, rather than where it stands?

I note that 3 of the veterans quoted in the article are listed as Officers of American Legion Post 22 on the post's website.  Is the issue that the vets would like the arch to remain close to post 22 where they congregate?  This I could understand.  Is there fear that the structure would be irreparably damaged or shoddily reassembled?  This I could also understand.

As for me, well, I'd really enjoy the opportunity to spend some time contemplating the arch, reading the names on it, and thinking about their service to our country.  But that's pretty unlikely in its present location.  I wonder if it will move, or if the vets will succeed in blocking the move.  In response to Mr. Aqusis' rhetorical question, if my father's name was on this arch, yes, I would certainly want it moved, and right away, to a location that more befits its importance.