Veterans are conspicuously honored at the new VA Medical Center trolley station. The station opened for service last month as part of the San Diego Trolley’s Mid-Coast extension. If you’d like to see photos from the Blue Line extension’s big opening day, click here.
Plaques and flags representing five branches of the United States Armed Services, and words like Duty and Sacrifice embedded in the station’s platform, salute those who’ve worked to defend our nation and the freedoms we enjoy.
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Four years ago, Military Tribute Plaza was dedicated at Civita in Mission Valley.
This monument, saluting the United States Armed Services, features flags above black marble columns. Bronze plaques recall the history of each military branch in San Diego. Veterans are also honored.
I took these photographs a few weeks ago when I enjoyed a walk through the large Civita residential community. I thought now would be a good time to post them, because Veterans Day has arrived.
In Memory of The Five Grant Brothers Who Honorably Served Their Country During World War II.SAN DIEGO’S COAST GUARD. One of the predecessors of the modern Coast Guard traces it presence in San Diego to the opening of the Point Loma Lighthouse in 1855…SAN DIEGO’S AIR FORCE. Originally part of the U.S. Army, the Air Force took shape with military aviation at Rockwell Field at North Island, beginning in 1912…Lt. Col. Ronald Grant, USAFR.Lt. Tom (Suds) Sudberry.SAN DIEGO’S NAVY. San Diego’s development owes much to the Navy, starting with the visit of the Great White Fleet of 16 battleships in 1908…SAN DIEGO’S MARINE CORPS. Beginning in 1914, strife in Mexico created a continuing presence in San Diego for the U.S. Marine Corps…SAN DIEGO’S ARMY. The U.S. Army was naturally in the forefront of San Diego’s American beginnings…
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Beneath the flags of Veterans Park, located across Midland Road from Old Poway Park, those who have served in the United States military are honored and remembered.
I visited Veterans Park during my most recent walk in Poway. I found many tributes to those who sacrificed.
I saw plaques, engraved bricks in a Wall of Honor, and small monuments filled with memory.
There’s a bronze Battlefield Cross and a large Meneely Bell.
Six stations near the center of the Veterans Park circle feature artwork and audio recordings. The history of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine is told.
There’s a cannon, an anchor, and other artifacts from war, and words of pain, and courage, and gratitude for freedom. And many names.
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Coronado’s huge Independence Day parade returned this year! The parade’s theme for 2021 was A Salute To America’s Heroes.
Late this morning I walked along Orange Avenue and took photographs of the patriotic spectacle.
The 4th of July Parade was cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The heroes honored in this year’s parade included healthcare workers, essential workers and ordinary Americans–all those who sacrificed to help our nation through a very difficult period.
I’ve blogged about this epic annual parade several times in the past, with photo captions that provide detailed information. Today I’ll simply offer a glimpse of what I experienced.
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Late this afternoon I attended a Memorial Day ceremony at National City’s Wall of Honor.
It was a special event for the South Bay community. Those who served in the United States Armed Services and have passed on were remembered.
The Wall of Honor extends on either side of the National City War Memorial, which stands overlooking a corner of Kimball Park. Plaques on the wall are dedicated to loved Veterans. Through the memorial’s arch children could be seen playing on the park’s wide green grass, and looking through that arch during the ceremony was like peering through the window of Freedom.
National City’s mayor and various dignitaries were in attendance and spoke. The Navy was represented as well. Retired vets who had served their country received handshakes from all.
I took these photographs of the beautiful and very meaningful ceremony. Memorial Day is a time to recognize sacrifices, and to seriously reflect.
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Around noon today there was a unique outdoor celebration of Memorial Day in downtown San Diego. The spectacle could be viewed in San Diego Bay and the sky above the USS Midway Museum!
A small crowd that had gathered by the iconic “Kiss” statue saw a Harbor Police patrol boat water cannon salute and a parade of personal watercraft arriving from across the bay bearing large American flags.
Then, after the patriotic parade had gathered in the water between the USS Midway and The Greatest Generation Walk, four vintage World War II aircraft belonging to Air Group One of the Commemorative Air Force flew twice overhead, and departed with the missing man formation.
Much of the event was at a distance from where I stood, but my small camera managed to get a few good photographs…
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After my visit to La Mesa today, I found myself in Balboa Park for another Sunday afternoon walk.
I kept looking right and left for an indication that this is Memorial Day weekend. I had to go to the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center to find it.
Even though the museum was closed when I walked past, I noticed fresh flowers and a wreath had been placed at its outdoor San Diego Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial.
Those who fought and died in that terrible war are still remembered.
If you’d like to see photos of an emotional Memorial Day ceremony that was held at the San Diego Peace Memorial four years ago, click here.
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A plaque that was dedicated on May 30, 1939 can be found in a seldom seen nook in Balboa Park.
At the rear of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, behind the large bronze tablet that honors Ernestine Schumann-Heink, a small memorial plaque is set in the wall at the rear of a fountain.
The plaque appears to have been placed there by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. But I can find absolutely nothing concerning it on the internet.
The plaque reads:
MEMORIAL FLANDER’S POPPIES DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO REST IN FLANDERS FIELD CITY SERVICE POST AND UNIT 537 MAY 30, 1939 A.D.
Flanders Fields poppies are often associated with May 30, or Memorial Day, which in earlier times was known as Decoration Day. Red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers in World War I resulted in Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields, and, later, the internationally recognized remembrance poppy.
The American Legion adopted the poppy as their official symbol of remembrance in 1920.
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Several plaques and monuments honoring military veterans can be found around Grape Day Park in Escondido. One tribute, the Wall of Courage, I previously photographed here.
At the east end of the park, between Broadway and Escondido’s City Hall, two marble monuments stand together in the shade of trees.
The four sides of an obelisk display the United States Constitution’s first Ten Amendments, the Bill of Rights, which guarantees our individual rights and liberty. According to a plaque at its base, the obelisk was presented by the Escondido Rotary Club to the City of Escondido on July 4, 1976, during our nation’s Bicentennial.
The second monument honors all veterans who serve to defend that freedom. The memorial was dedicated twenty years later, in 1996 on Veterans Day.
It reads: The eternal gratitude of the citizens of Escondido and the nation is extended to every man and woman, living or dead, who wore the uniform of our military services with honor past, present and future.
A flag flies above both.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
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