FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 10th, 2004
Ponsford, Ltd. Has Been Selected Again To Handle The Prestigious Project to Prepare The Monuments At Arlington National Cemetery For Memorial Day Weekend and the 60th Anniversary Of D-Day. Ponsford, Ltd will be conserving 16 Monuments in preparation of
the upcoming Holidays.
The preparations include President Taft's Monument, President Kennedy's and 14 others. "It is hard to put into words the pride we have in performing this service," said Gordon Ponsford, Owner and Senior Conservator at Ponsford Ltd., "To be requested every year to
do this is an honor and a joy that is impossible to describe."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER TO BE CONSERVED BY ATLANTA AREA
CONSERVATION GROUP
Ponsford, Ltd. Selected To Handle Prestigious Project
to Prepare Monument for Memorial Day Weekend
Atlanta . . . As families around the country are honoring fallen
heroes lost during the war in Iraq, the monument honoring all unknown
American soldiers who died in battle will be cleaned and conserved
by an Atlanta-area specialist. Ponsford, Ltd., one of the largest
conservation and restoration groups in the country, has been selected
by Arlington National Cemetery to handle the conservation of the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in preparation for the upcoming Memorial
Day observances.
May 13 –17, 2003, two conservators from Ponsford, Ltd., located
in Acworth, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, will conduct the cleaning
and restoration of this beloved national monument. This will be
the third occasion that Ponsford, Ltd. has been selected to handle
this project.
The conservation process involves taking numerous photos of the
entire monument to document the surface condition before any work
begins. The acid rain in the Washington, D.C. area is unrelenting
on the surface of the stone, and organic material that builds up
on the surface of the monument can lead to the deterioration of
the finish. The entire surface of the monument is carefully hand-washed
using a biocide that will clean away the dirt and kills fungus,
algae and moss that grows on monuments. The biocide is rinsed, and
any residue left will inhibit continued organic growth for about
a year.
“This project is quite meaningful – particularly in
light of the recent war in Iraq and the American heroes who lost
their lives,” remarks Gordon Ponsford, conservator and owner
of Ponsford, Ltd. “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reflects
every American’s pride in our nation and respect for those
who gave their lives to defend it. It is the greatest honor for
us to be selected to conserve this monument.” Ponsford
and assistant conservator Amanda Kroll will personally handle the
restoration process.
In addition to the restoration project on the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier, Ponsford, Ltd. has been asked to handle washing and waxing
five other monuments and sculptures at Arlington National Cemetery
during the May 13 – 17 visit. These include the statue of
Field Marshal John Dill (a British soldier honored at Arlington,
who like many British soldiers in the war in Iraq, fought alongside
Americans), the Space Shuttle Challenger monument, the Major General
Philip Kearny sculpture, the Major General Henry Lawton monument,
and the Brigadier General Theodore Wint monument. Also, Ponsford,
Ltd.
will assess 25 other sculptures and monuments for
upcoming conservation.
About the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Arlington National Cemetery is visited by 4.5 million people a
year, most of whom do not leave without paying their respects to
the anonymous men buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (also
known as the Tomb of the Unknowns). A Congressional Approval on
March 4, 1921, led to the most symbolic funeral in America’s
history when a nameless hero who died in WWI was buried atop a hill
overlooking Washington, D.C. in Arlington National Cemetery.
The internationally recognized sarcophagus was not erected until
some ten years later. Sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones and architect Lorimer
Rich created the monument. The marble from which the monument is
constructed is known as Yule marble and was quarried in Marble,
Colorado. Yule marble is the same material used to create the Lincoln
Memorial. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier weighs approximately 55
tons and cost $48,000 to create. West of the tomb are the graves
of an unknown soldier from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Each is marked
with a three-ton slab of marble bearing the dates of each conflict.
The grave of the Unknown Soldier from Vietnam was exhumed in 1998
and DNA testing discovered his identity. At the family’s request,
the soldier was sent home for a traditional burial.
About Ponsford, Ltd.
Ponsford, Ltd. is one of the largest conservation and restoration
groups in the United States offering both in-studio services and
on-site work. They have provided work at some of the finest museums,
parks, and municipalities around the world, serving as protectors,
guardians, and custodians of fine art and antiques. They are located
at 5441 Woodstock Road, Acworth, Georgia, 30102.
For more information: on Ponsford,
Ltd. and their work with Arlington National Cemetery, please call
770-924-4848.
# # #
Barrie B. Davenport
Davenport Public Relations
6035 Loch Harbor Ct.
Roswell, Georgia 30075
770-642-0430
bbdavenport@charter.net
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