Growing up in Lancaster, Ohio, I often walked past the war memorial in Zane Square Park — a monument of granite situated near benches and an American flag at the heart of our small downtown. One panel bears a cross, the words “DUTY HONOR COUNTRY,” and a Star of David.
I knew even as a child that memorials are designed with intention. Every detail is present for a reason. But I had no answer for who the star represented. I didn’t know any Jews in Lancaster. There was no synagogue, no Jewish presence at my schools, and no visible signs of Jewish life downtown or anywhere else I looked.
The symbol stood like a question mark — clearly important, yet completely unexplained.
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