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Md. Town Aims To 'Desegregate' WWI Memorial

EMMITSBURG, MD. (AP) -- The top elected officials in Emmitsburg say they favor changing the racially divisive language on a World War I memorial.

A plaque on the base of the statue contains 125 names, including three listed as "colored soldiers."

The Frederick News-Post (http://bit.ly/1TjmTsN ) reports that Mayor Don Briggs said Monday night he favors combining the names into one list.

Town Council President Tim O'Donnell told The Associated Press Tuesday that he also thinks it's the right thing to do.

Resident Bob Rosensteel suggested the change after the statue was hit and damaged by a car on June 17.

Rosensteel says he was motivated partly by the fact that the damage occurred on the same night a gunman killed nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charlestown, South Carolina.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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