NEW VINEYARD — Sitting inconspicuously along Route 234 between New Vineyard and Strong is a moss-covered boulder with the inscription “WWII Anzio.”

The message refers to one of the legendary battles of the war, but how and why it was put there are a mystery to New Vineyard residents. And, it was only recently that the rock with its message was discovered.

“I did the code enforcement here for 20 years,” Jim Cahill said. “No one ever noticed it.”

In the middle of August, he hosted guests his home. One woman from Florida went for a walk and noticed the rock. She took a photo, came back and showed it to the others.

Cahill said he asked longtime resident Vivian Searles, 87, about the rock and she said she had never noticed it in her walks. A few days after he told her about it, she called him back and said that she found it.

“You can tell by the age it’s been there a long time,” Cahill said.

He wondered if perhaps a parent or somebody who knew someone who died in the battle had put the inscription on the stone.

Cahill said he’d spoken to people around town about it, but no one seems to know who put the message on the rock or why.

Anyone with any information about it is asked to call 778-2075.

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