WASHINGTON — Not much was known about a broken plaque found in a broom closet at the John Wilson Building in downtown D.C. back in 2010.
But the research efforts of a dedicated D.C. government employee helped bring the story of the mystery plaque to light.
“Because of some additional archival research, we are able to reveal the mystery today,” said D.C. Council spokesman Josh Gibson.
The plaque, which contains 1,869 names, was found in pieces in 2010 by a Wilson Building worker and NBC Washington reporter Mark Segraves, who was a WTOP reporter at the time.
“We found the plaque in the very back, on the floor.” Segraves said. “It was behind trash cans, paint cans, ladders.”
Segraves recalled crawling into the closet with Vince Gray, who was D.C. Council chairman at the time. Together, they were able to lift out part of the plaque into the hallway.
But the title piece was missing — and is still missing to this day.
With only names to go on, Gray launched a search to find out significance of the names.
The goal was to have an answer by Veterans Day 2011, but that day came and went, and the mystery remained. Then Gibson took on the project, combing through hundreds of articles, pictures and researching the web for answers.
“He had a thousand photographs to go through,” Segraves said. “He found the one picture of the plaque.”
Slowly, the story of the plaque emerged: A picture taken of the hallway of the building with the plaque in place helped Gibson confirm his suspicion — that it was a piece made honor service members.
Recently, Gibson discovered pieces of the plaque’s main section in the same closet where the 2010 discovery was made.
Gibson has since determined that the plaque was made to honor D.C. government employees who served in World War II and was originally placed in a hallway near the mayor’s press room in 1942.
The search continues for the plaque’s missing title piece.
Gibson said he thinks the missing title piece had an eagle on it and contained the words “Roll of Honor.”
Gibson said that the plaque probably broke and wound up in the closet during the 1990s when the Wilson Building was being renovated. The title piece, which was the most ornate, may have been taken by someone inside the building during construction.
Gibson said no questions will be asked and no one will be prosecuted if they return the missing piece.
“We would love to have this back so we can properly honor the people who served their country during the war,” Gibson said.
His hope is someone will come forward with it so D.C. can rehang and dedicate the plaque with all its original pieces this upcoming Veterans Day.
