Tag: plaques

War Memorial Building forgets Memorial Day.

Veterans War Memorial in Balboa Park.
Veterans War Memorial in Balboa Park.

I thought of heading up to Mt. Soledad for the Memorial Day ceremony this afternoon, but the thought of crowds and a parking hassle was just too much. Instead, I went for a long walk!

My brilliant plan was to head up Park Boulevard to check out the Veterans War Memorial Building in Balboa Park, just north of the San Diego Zoo. The War Memorial Building was built in 1950 to honor Americans who’d served in the military overseas. Certainly something had to be going on there for Memorial Day!

Boy was I wrong.

The place was dead. Closed. No people. Nothing. Not even a flag on the flagpole. They couldn’t even raise a flag for Memorial Day?

No flag flies for Memorial Day.
No flag flies for Memorial Day.
San Diego Veterans War Memorial Building plaque.
San Diego Veterans War Memorial Building plaque.

The plaque reads:

SAN DIEGO VETERANS WAR MEMORIAL BUILDING

DEDICATED BY THE CITIZENS OF SAN DIEGO AS A LIVING MEMORIAL TO OUR HONORED DEAD OF ALL WARS AND TO THOSE AMERICANS WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR THE FOUR FREEDOMS

I

FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION

II

FREEDOM OF EVERY PERSON TO WORSHIP GOD IN HIS OWN WAY

III

FREEDOM FROM WANT

IV

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

Veterans War Memorial is closed on Memorial Day.
Veterans War Memorial is closed on Memorial Day.

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Bronze plaque marks birthplace of naval aviation.

Bronze plaque in Coronado marks birthplace of naval aviation.
Bronze plaque in Coronado marks birthplace of naval aviation.

In Coronado’s beautiful Centennial Park, just north of the Coronado Ferry Landing, you can find this relatively new bronze plaque. It marks the birthplace of naval aviation, Rockwell Field, which no longer exists.

The historical marker reads:

BIRTHPLACE OF NAVAL AVIATION

In 1910, on the unoccupied brushland of North Coronado Island, inventor and entrepreneur Glenn Hammond Curtiss opened his winter flying school for prospective “aeroplane pilots.” Among his first class of students was Navy Lieutenant Theodore G. “Spuds” Ellyson, who would become the first Naval Aviator. In 1917, the U.S. Congress appropriated the island to support the World War I effort and two airfields occupied its sandy flats–the Navy’s “Camp Trouble” and the Army Signal Corps’ Rockwell Field. The Army vacated Rockwell Field in 1935, at which time the Navy expanded its operations to cover the whole island. Many aviation milestones originated from North Island including the first seaplane flight in the United States in 1911.

San Diego, California was designated the “Birthplace of Naval Aviation” by the Armed Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives on 24 March 1961.

Marker Placed By

California State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution

2011

Historical marker is located near east end of Centennial Park.
Historical marker is located near east end of Centennial Park.
Rockwell Field in 1924.
Rockwell Field in 1924.

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Bust of war hero in Little Italy’s Piazza Basilone.

Bust of World War II hero John Basilone in Little Italy.
Bust of World War II hero John Basilone in Little Italy.

This handsome bust is the central feature of Piazza Basilone, a small urban space with tables, umbrellas and a fountain at the corner of India and Fir Street in Little Italy.

A plaque beneath the bust begins with the following words:

GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE

NOVEMBER 4, 1916 – FEBRUARY 19, 1945

SERGEANT JOHN BASILONE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ENLISTED MARINES TO BE AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR OF WORLD WAR II. HE WAS ALSO POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE NATIONAL CROSS.

HE WAS BORN TO ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS, SALVATORE AND DORA BASILONE, IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK. HE AND HIS TEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS GREW UP IN RARITAN, NEW JERSEY. RESTLESS AND ADVENTUROUS BY NATURE, JOHN ENLISTED IN THE ARMY AT THE AGE EIGHTEEN AND WAS ASSIGNED TO GARRISON SERVICE IN THE PHILIPPINES.

AFTER HIS HONORABLE DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY, BASILONE RETURNED TO RARITAN. AS THE STORM CLOUDS OF WAR GATHERED, JOHN BELIEVED HIS PLACE WAS WITH THE FIGHTING FORCES. IN JULY 1940 HE ENLISTED IN THE MARINE CORPS.

IT WAS ON GUADACANAL THAT SERGEANT BASILONE ACHIEVED HIS PLACE IN MARINE CORPS HISTORY, BECOMING ONE OF THE FIRST ENLISTED MARINES TO BE AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR OF WORLD WAR II; THE NATION’S HIGHEST AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM AND CONSPICUOUS GALLANTRY IN ACTION.

During the Battle of Guadalcanal, Basilone held off 3,000 Japanese troops after his unit was almost entirely destroyed. He was later killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Planet Earth globe fountain in Little Italy's Piazza Basilone.
Planet Earth globe fountain in Little Italy’s Piazza Basilone.

This unique fountain is just a few feet away.

Huge Liberty Station flag at half-mast.

Huge Liberty Station flag at half mast.
Huge Liberty Station flag at half-mast.

I took a nice long walk this chilly morning from Spanish Landing to the edge of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.  I followed dirt and paved walkways, staying mostly near the edge of the boat channel that runs between Point Loma’s Liberty Station and Lindbergh Field.

Here are pics of one sight that was very hard not to miss.  The gigantic flag at NTC Liberty Station was flying in the breeze at half-mast, most likely due to Nelson Mandela’s death today.

In the first photo you can see ladies getting a workout in the big grassy area, and some large guns that are monuments to the old Naval Training Center.

Today’s Liberty Station is a complex of stores, offices, museums, residential and park space.  It used to be Naval Training Center San Diego, which was closed in 1997 and eventually redeveloped using the historic old buildings.  The grassy expanse you see is Preble Field. It was the marching ground where Navy recruits assembled, marched and graduated from boot camp.

Flag at half mast at Ingram Plaza.
Flag at half mast beyond Ingram Plaza.

This plaque marks where Ingram Plaza used to be.  Ingram Plaza was the site of tent camps in the 1920s where incoming recruits were temporarily isolated to prevent outbreaks of contagious diseases.  Here they also got haircuts, new uniforms and physical training before joining the regular routines of the base.

The plaque reads:

THIS PLAZA IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OSMOND K. INGRAM GUNNERS MATE FIRST CLASS UNITED STATES NAVY WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE HIS SHIP AND SHIPMATES DURING AN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE U.S.S. CASSIN AND A GERMAN SUBMARINE ON OCTOBER 15, 1917

“GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS'”

UPDATE!

Here are a few more photos I took on a later day:

Plaques at NTC Liberty Station remember the history of Naval Training Center San Diego.
Plaques at NTC Liberty Station remember the history of Naval Training Center San Diego.
Preble Field was a grinder or marching ground. However, it is most fondly remembered as the location of every boot camp graduation ceremony, where boys became men.
Preble Field was a grinder or marching ground. However, it is most fondly remembered as the location of every boot camp graduation ceremony, where boys became men.
Ingram Plaza was the site of the original tent camps in the 1920s. New recruits were isolated here for three weeks, and given haircuts, uniforms and physical training.
Ingram Plaza was the site of the original tent camps in the 1920s. New recruits were isolated here for three weeks, and given haircuts, uniforms and physical training.
An old anchor on display at Liberty Station. It sits across historic Preble Field from the American flag at full-mast.
An old Navy anchor on display at Liberty Station. It sits across historic Preble Field from the American flag now at full-mast.

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Peek into the San Diego Firehouse Museum.

sign at the firehouse museum in little italy

If you’re ever in the Little Italy neighborhood in downtown San Diego, you might want to check out the small but jam-packed Firehouse Museum.

Shiny red fire trucks, interesting historical photos, old fire fighting apparatus, memorabilia and even Smokey Bear are on display. And excited kids can climb into one of the cool fire engines!

This sign by the sidewalk invites tourists and passersby to take a peek into the firehouse.

a peek at a cool firetruck and smokey bear

I took a photo from outside, aiming left.

old firetrucks in san diego firehouse museum

And then the above photo aiming right.

The next pic was taken on a later day, in the early morning when the museum was still closed…

The San Diego Firehouse Museum in the early morning.
The San Diego Firehouse Museum in the early morning.

A plaque appeared on the museum’s exterior in mid to late 2015!

Old Fire Station Number Six. From 1915 to 1970, San Diego Fire Department's original Fire Station 6 proudly served the community of Little Italy.
Old Fire Station Number Six. From 1915 to 1970, San Diego Fire Department’s original Fire Station 6 proudly served the community of Little Italy.

The plaque includes this fascinating information:

In the workshop on this site some of America’s most significant fire service innovations were created by the specialty trade-skilled firefighters who worked here, including the world’s first gas engine powered fireboat, the Bill Kettner. In 1963 the National Fire Protection Association declared the national standard thread the official fire hose thread of the United States of America. The machine which enabled this federal legislation was invented here six years earlier by inventor and battalion chief Robert Ely. The common thread allowed thousands of American firefighters to connect their fire hoses together, allowing them to work as one. As a result, countless lives and priceless amounts of property and the environment have been saved.

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Plaque remembers Pearl Harbor victims.

plaque memorializes victims of pearl harbor

This plaque, embedded in a large old slab, is located on the Embarcadero. You’ll find it right next to the USS Midway Museum, at the north end of the Greatest Generation Walk. It remembers the victims of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

It reads:

IN MEMORY OF THE 2335 MEN WHO PERISHED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY ON THE ISLAND OF OAHU.

It looks like the memorial was unveiled by a local chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association in 1984. I’m not sure where the plaque was located originally. I searched the internet briefly, but found nothing.

UPDATE!

I’ve learned that this plaque was originally located on the Broadway Pier, prior to its renovation a few years ago.  This post contains more info I received from the Port of San Diego.

Pedicab drivers wait near Pearl Harbor plaque.
Pedicab drivers wait near Pearl Harbor plaque.

United States flag raised in Southern California.

united states flag raised in southern california

This historical plaque, located in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s grassy central Plaza de Las Armas, reads:

On this spot the United States Flag was first raised in Southern California by Lt. Stephen C. Rowan U.S.N. commanding Sailors and Marines July 29, 1846

Looking past the bronze plaque at a few Old Town buildings.
Looking past the bronze plaque at a few Old Town buildings.