To better identify the fact that Camp Mills was established in Garden City back in 1917, Bill Bellmer of Poplar Street thought it appropriate to rename Commercial Avenue "Camp Mills Avenue." Camp Mills once occupied a part of the village south of the Long Island Rail Road and east of Clinton Road - the reason why the memorial to the Rainbow Division, deployed from that camp, rests in Rainbow Park, located at the corner of Clinton Road and St. James Street South.

Bellmer also suggested a historic marker be placed in the park, the site of an upcoming Nov. 11 memorial rededication. The marker would be similar to the one that exists at the corner of Eleventh Street and Washington Avenue that identifies Camp Winfield Scott, Bellmer said.

The honorary sign would be an addition to the existing Commercial Avenue street sign. "This has been discussed with Ed Tammaro at the post office. He said the village could install the sign next to the existing sign and notify the post office of its action," Bellmer said. "Mail could then be delivered to a number at either street name." Replacing the original street name is much more complicated and requires notification of all the properties affected.

Noting that his recommendations have been discussed with and approved by EPOA's board of directors, Bellmer said the sign could be installed in time for the rededication. The marker however, would require more time to complete.

"According to the New York State Historic Markers website, these [markers] are now privately installed," Bellmer told trustees. He mentioned Catskill Castings in Bloomville, NY (catskillcastings.com) at a cost of $625. "Perhaps the village historian could provide the text," he added.

Eighty-five years since what was then called The Great War, the monument honoring the legendary Rainbow Division of World War I will be rededicated during a ceremony, to begin at 9:30 a.m., at the park on Veterans Day.

The event will feature patriotic period music, posters, photos and other memorabilia donated by families of World War I veterans, readings of award-winning essays by Long Island middle school students and reminiscences of the period by veterans' family members.

The 17-foot monument, made of Rainbow granite from Minnesota, was erected in 1941 and weighs more than 30 tons. Each side of the base depicts a phase of Rainbow Division history in maps and words, including a Doughboy at attention, a Doughboy blowing taps, a list of the division's units and their states.

Joining in the rededication are the American Legion's William Bradford Turner Post in Garden City, the Rainbow Division Veterans Memorial Foundation and the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation of Norfolk, VA. More than 27,000 men from 26 states and the District of Columbia assembled and trained in Garden City.

They lived in thousands of four-cot, floorless, one-pole tents at Camp Mills before eventually shipping out to France. As an Army chief-of-staff, MacArthur named the division because it represented the "rainbow" across America.

John Donovan, commander of Garden City's American Legion Post, said that the rededication offers residents "the chance to reflect on the very significant piece of history that occurred right in their own backyard."

Event organizers are sponsoring an essay contest for Nassau County middle school students, focusing on "The Legacy of World War I," with a total of $450 in U.S. Savings Bond prizes to three winners. Contributing to the rededication are Boswell's Deli of Garden City, Scheurer Monuments of Westbury and Crown Trophy of Levittown.