WWI Doughboy Memorial Restoration Process Is Almost Complete 

Middletown Township announced that the World War I Doughboy Monument restoration will be completed by the end of August. The circa 1930’s life-size monument is located on Church Street in Belford and is being restored by Master Stone Carver, Franco Minervini.

The Veterans Affairs Committee identified the monument in need of repair. The Township Committee then commissioned Minervini to do this important project to ensure that the monument would be fully restored, rather than replacing it with a replica. He is one of the only sculptors in the country with this type of stone carving expertise.

“This year marks the centennial of the United States’ entry into World War I, so we wanted to commemorate the several dozen WWI veterans from Belford, Port Monmouth, and New Monmouth by restoring this monument to its former glory,” said Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, an archaeologist and long-time member of the Township’s Landmarks Commission. “Our Doughboy statue is a way for our residents and visitors to pay homage to these veterans who sacrificed so much for us. It is also a reminder to future generations of the role Middletown played in one of the most significant conflicts in our nation's history." 

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