Editor, Gazette-Journal:

As someone who’s been part of Virginia’s historic preservation community for almost a half-century, I urge the Mathews County Board of Supervisors not to transfer the land beneath the Soldiers and Sailors Monument into private hands. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.

Last year, more than 80 percent of Mathews County’s voters decided that the monument should stay on the courthouse green. There, it is safe and on display for all to see. It’s also part of a well-lit, protected piece of historic real estate, alongside the old courthouse, jail, clerk’s office, sheriff’s office, county office building, and a monument to those who served in the American Revolution. All of these structures are on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register and are components of local heritage tourism.

A short distance away, at the new courthouse, there is another monument, one that recognizes local veterans of World W...