Westbrook resident Kevin Moss, left, and American Legion Post 62 Commander Dennis Marrotte brush back vegetation to view a veterans’ monument at the intersection of Route 302 and Elmwood Avenue. Robert Lowell / American Journal

A Westbrook citizen’s effort is underway to spruce up an overgrown veterans’ monument and restore a rusted flagpole.

Kevin Moss, a two-year Westbrook resident, spotted the monument by chance while waiting at a stop sign at Elmwood Avenue and Route 302 in August. Moss hopes the monument would be presentable by Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

A plaque reads “Erected to honor Pride’s Corner Veterans of All Wars.” Presented By Kiwanis Club of Pride’s Corner 1983. Robert Lowell / American Journal

A 9-by-12-inch bronze plaque on a stone, camouflaged through neglect by an overgrown bush, says the Pride’s Corner Kiwanis Club placed the monument “To honor veterans” 41 years ago, but it appears to have been forgotten. “Where’s the honor?” Moss said.

He said a corroded flagpole nearby appears structurally sound but needs paint. “It shall be seen. Neighbors want to see a flag fly,” Moss said, adding it could be illuminated by a solar light.

Moss said some neighbors have lived close by for 25 years and never knew the monument existed.

The Pride’s Corner Kiwanis Club appears to have disbanded, and Westbrook Kiwanis didn’t respond to a Facebook message by the American Journal deadline. “It’s borrowed time before this story is lost,” he said.

Moss and Dennis Marrotte, commander of American Legion Post 62 in Westbrook, visited the monument Oct. 11 to discuss a course of action. The city has advised Moss that the site is on state-owned land. Moss is digging into which Maine department is the one to contact, seeking permission to clean up the site that he identified as the gateway to the Lakes Region.

The monument is at a busy intersection where multiple traffic crashes have occurred. A stop sign post there is held in place with a bungee cord and the guardrail is mangled.

Doug Eaton, operations manager at Westbrook Public Services, said the city has contracted with Maine Line Fence to replace the guardrail this month.

Moss wants an appropriate course of action to restore the monument and flagpole.

Eaton said individuals have contacted Public Services about improving the monument site, but “we can’t grant permission.”

Eaton said the city hasn’t maintained the monument, but the grass has been mown there. Moss hopes a residential task force of neighbors and veterans could band together to upgrade the appearance of the site.

If the state determines the monument should be relocated, Marrotte said it perhaps could be relocated to Pride Street where a new fire station is to be built.

Unanswered questions abound. Moss wonders about the origin of the granite stone and whether the site could contain a veteran’s remains.

A determined Moss is ready to take cleanup action.

“You can’t walk away from this,” he said. “It’s an obligation.”