Originally published in The Boca Raton Tribune– to see images from the 1947-1959 time period and other screenshots please check out that article. Additionally, I’ve been spearheading coverage of this issue in the news department as well, so if you want to know more about the development, please subscribe to the Tribune to get access to the coverage.

During last Tuesday’s Boca Raton City Council Meeting, City Manager George Brown strongly implied Memorial Park facilities were not built out before 1959 and that Memorial Park did not have a strong association with veterans or memorial events. While Brown might be correct that recently most city memorial functions have been held at the Boca Raton Cemetery, historically many of these sorts of functions took place at Memorial Park.

At the center of the conflict is a debate about whether the property was explicitly named a “war memorial” in honor of World War II, or if the name “Memorial Park” is merely a generic, non-specific designation. But what the city does not seem to understand is that perception is reality and tone-deafness around veterans issues can turn a citizenry against local government. The tone has been stunning particularly from Mayor Scott Singer, who in the past appeared a highly-intelligent and thoughtful public official- and one in tune with the preferences of the citizens of Boca Raton. One must assume he’s not actually driving this train but external forces are, because it seems so out of character for him.

Whatever the specifics are of the debate which we will outline below in broad strokes, the city not understanding the sensitivity of the Memorial Park issue is mind-blowing. I will concede as someone who writes professionally about history, I was so shocked by the apparent callousness of Boca Raton’s posture, I hesitated to write my initial story and delayed its publication until I had all the backup evidence I needed to recognize my hunch was correct- that a World War II memorial, no matter what the “formalities” of its designation was being removed at the whims of politicians and developers.

The argument for a war memorial

According to historical records and town council resolutions from 1947, the park was officially named “Memorial Park” and “War Memorial.” Proponents of this view argue that given the resolution was passed just two years after the end of World War II, the intention was clear: to create a memorial for those who served and died in the war. The word “Memorial,” used in this specific context, directly refers to a memorial for World War II.

Furthermore, as we have previously reported proponents point to the consistent use of the name in official city documents. For example, many city budget documents refer to capital improvements on the property as being for “Memorial Park Tennis Center,” or “Memorial Park recreation improvements,” which they argue proves the name has been significant and consistently applied over many years- even if the names have been changed now for whatever reason, political or otherwise.

The counter-argument: A question of “designation”

The opposing side argues that while the property has been called Memorial Park, no official war memorial building was ever erected or designated on the site. Their arguments rely on a timeline of events, pointing out that:

• When a playground and recreational facilities were opened in 1959, they were not named or designated as a war memorial.
• A new city hall and community center were later added, and neither facility was given this designation.
• Parking lots added in 1980 were also not officially designated as a war memorial.

This view suggests that the term “Memorial Park” is insignificant and was applied at random to a variety of projects on the property, like a tennis center that was informally known as the Boca Tennis Center. However, as the below documents show these items were added AFTER the area was clearly used for war memorial functions for many years and the building out of the space began before 1959.

Most importantly, as stated above perception is reality. Why the city’s leadership would want to do something that is perceived to many as the desecration of something honoring the sacrifices Americans made during World War II is quite honestly is stunning. Beyond that it indicates an arrogance and entitlement by elected officials and bureaucrats at the city based on technicalities- even if they are correct on some of those technicalities, the court of public opinion is widely outraged at this moment about this.

In a democracy quite frankly, that stinks. And that is the sort of thing that leads citizens to lose trust in government, something we are grappling with throughout the western world at the moment.

As this debate evolves it is becoming clear the city’s arguments which have been inconsistent (The FAQ’s on the project page pertaining to the War Memorial issue are now on their third version) don’t hold much water and have in many ways further inflamed the situation. And now the international press is showing an interest in this matter.

This debate over the park’s name and intent is a central point of contention for the new master plan to redevelop the area. The city’s inability to understand the sensitivity of this matter and the seriousness many take the perception of desecration of a World War II memorial has been alarming. At a time when trust in government is at an all time low and the perception many have is that politicians and bureaucrats “lie” all the time, the city needs to do better. We hope, pray and trust they will do better now that this thing has blown up.

Others issues exist around the development of the new downtown government campus, but quite frankly from an optics perspective (though not necessarily from a resident or policy perspective) they are all fairly minor compared to this Memorial Park matter. How the city got it so badly wrong on the Memorial aspect of this is something that could permanently sour many on Boca Raton – and that’s not good for anyone, regardless of you view of this issue.