Incising Stars on the American Legion Centennial Cenotaph

A cenotaph is an ancient sculptural form placed to remember people whose graves are elsewhere. The word translates from the Greek as empty or vacant tomb. Our cenotaph, the central stone of the America Legion Centennial Memorial, presents the voices of World War I and the American Civil War in the form of four incised poetry fragments that wind around the marble monolith. These songs of war bring us the voices of the past. An important element of the artistic program of the American Legion Centennial Memorial is the star field, interspersed with the poetry on the cenotaph. It provides an opportunity for public participation in recording and remembering the stories of our deceased veterans and American Legion members. Each star is incised, using a star drill, by a friend or relative of a veteran. The story of each veteran, the person who created it and the location of their star is presented on the Centennial Memorial website. This album documents the incising of the first stars by members of Princeton-West Windsor Post 76 in remembrance of a friend or loved one. The next step is for the Sculptor, Pietro del Fabro, to add a ‘gilt’ lining to the star. These will serve as an examples to others when the American Legion Centennial Memorial is dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2016.