World War II historic marker goes missing

Mike and Nicki Bergin make the walk nearly every day from their Twin Shores home to get a cup of coffee at Harry’s Continental Kitchens.

Not long ago, the Bergins noticed the World War II memorial marker was missing from its signpost near the town's mid-key water station at 4250 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

“The sad thing is it’s part of Longboat Key history,” Mike Bergin said of the marker that commemorated U.S. Army Air Corps’ use of the Key as a bombing range during World War II.

The marker was one of seven erected around the island in 1997. The town and the Longboat Key Historical Society teamed up on that project. 

Earlier this year, crews repainted the water station, so Nicki Bergin thought the town might have temporarily removed the memorial for that reason to protect it.

“I thought maybe they took it down because they didn't want to get near the dust and dirt and paint,” she said.

However, Longboat Key Public Works Director Isaac Brownman said his department is not aware of what happened to the historic marker. 

“As you can see from the photo, it’s quite a large metal,” Mike Bergin said. “It would take some getting off. It’s not like it fell off in the wind.”

Longboat Key’s Public Works Department is planning to replace the memorial.

Brownman said it cost $325 the last time the town ordered a memorial marker. He said he anticipates a similar cost for the replacement.

“We are in conversations with a sign vendor now,” Brownman wrote in an email.

The vendor will let the town know how long it will take to replace the sign, Brownman said.