Officials favor adding memorial at Burlington Square Park

For years, Naperville's "Doughboy" sculpture has stood in solitude at Burlington Square Park.

The Naperville Garden Club wants to give the memorial to World War I servicemen some company.

The club and park district officials have asked for the city's permission to install a Blue Star Memorial marker in the northeast part of the site.

The park is just south of the downtown train station at Fourth Avenue. It is owned by the city, but leased to the park district. Any changes to the landscape have to be approved by the city.

"This is something our club has wanted to do for a long time," said Mary Thompson, the group's civic chairman. "We've been working on getting the funds for the marker to place it somewhere in Naperville."

The marker will cost the garden club $1,130 to buy. The park district will install it and add landscaping to make the site more welcoming to visitors.

Thompson said the club will conduct an internal fundraiser to pay for the marker.

"So many of our members are touched by having family in the armed forces," she said. "This is just another way for the Naperville Garden Club to give back to the city."

The National Garden Club is the proprietor of the Blue Star Memorials -- a tribute to veterans and active members of the armed forces. Hundreds of similar markers have been installed throughout the country at parks, veterans facilities, cemeteries, historic sites and along highways.

The program began in 1945 and was named for the star on banners displayed at homes and businesses that denoted a family member served in the armed forces.

"The garden club had asked if they could look at putting it in Veterans Park, but there is a proposal of renovating that entire park in the works," said Ed Dalton, park district director of parks. "This is something they wanted to do right away, so then we thought Burlington Square would be a good place because of the high visibility it will receive from people at the train station."

It could take weeks for a final decision from the city.