Tag: war

Young Ukrainian filmmaker visits San Diego.

Thirteen-year-old Ukrainian filmmaker Marusya Shuvalova spoke today at the 20th San Diego International Children’s Film Festival. The event was held in the Neil Morgan Auditorium at San Diego’s downtown Central Library.

Shuvalova’s two films, Me. My Eleven Years. War. and What’s Going On With Us? were among the outstanding selections featured in 2024. Both films document her young life in Kyiv, Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Please watch the short Me. My Eleven Years. War. on YouTube by clicking here. There are English subtitles.

You will see how Marusya’s life as an ordinary eleven-year-old girl was disrupted by the war–how she had to forgo loved activities, learn remotely, listen constantly to loud sirens, take shelter, and live with fear of an unknown future, and a constant fear for her family’s safety. Her ambitions to be a young actress and film director had to be largely put on hold.

But now she has visited Los Angeles and San Diego for their respective International Children’s Film Festivals and hopefully her future is becoming brighter. Even with her limited knowledge of English, and emotions that you and I might hardly understand, she spoke before the audience in San Diego with perfect professionalism and poise. She is truly inspirational.

Learn more about Marusya Shuvalova by clicking here.

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San Diego assisted the American Revolution?

I’m not a historian. If you are, perhaps you might leave a comment concerning a plaque that is mounted to a flagpole on San Diego’s Presidio Hill, near the ruins of the old Spanish Presidio.

The plaque states:

California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Commemoration Plaque

IN RECOGNITION OF THE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAN DIEGO PRESIDIO TO SPAIN IN ITS WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN. THESE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS ASSISTED THE AMERICAN COLONIES IN THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Proclaimed on November 4, 2005 by the California Society, Sons of the American Revolution

The Presidio of San Diego was established in 1769, seven years before the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. The American Revolution saw its ultimate success in 1783 when the British signed the Treaty of Paris.

Today four flagpoles stand on Presidio Hill. The four flags represent the United States, the Kumeyaay Nation, Spain and Mexico. They demonstrate that San Diego’s history is both diverse and complex.

How significant were these financial contributions made by inhabitants of the Presidio to Spain? In what form were the contributions? Were they obtained through the labor of indigenous Kumeyaay on the land taken by Spanish missions? San Diego in its very early years was sparsely populated and relatively poor. How, specifically, did these financial contributions help Spain in its war against Great Britain?

Clearly, I’m no historian! If you know more about this, please leave a comment!

UPDATE!

On July 6, 2024 I came across more information concerning this.

During the Independence Day celebration at the International Cottages in Balboa Park, the House of Spain had an elaborate display in front of their cottage, explaining how Spain helped the United States win the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.

An emphasis was placed on the Spanish General Bernardo de Galvez, who provided patriots with money, medicines, arms, and key wartime information. He was a hero at the Battles of Mobile and Pensacola.

One display explained how the Spanish living in distant San Diego contributed, too. “San Diego’s Spanish Patriots” were soldiers at the old Presidio, who provided funds from their own pockets to support America’s fight for independence.

I was told by a gentleman who sounded knowledgeable that in addition to soldiers and others associated with the newly established Spanish Missions, Native Americans up and down California within the Spanish sphere of influence were also “persuaded” to make monetary contributions, albeit in lesser amounts.

Apparently all of these contributions were provided at the request of Junípero Serra. Collected funds then made their way to the opposite coast of America, where they bolstered the efforts of Galvez.

If my understanding of this history isn’t correct, or you know more about the subject, please leave a comment!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Original site of the San Diego Peace Memorial.

A little-seen plaque in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park marks the original site of the San Diego Peace Memorial. The bronze plaque is located near the corner of San Diego Avenue and Twiggs Street, in an unobtrusive spot behind the Old Town Trolley Tours ticket booth.

The plaque reads: Honoring San Diego’s sons and daughters who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and remembering those who remain missing. 1964-1975. First dedicated on this site in 1969. Relocated to the Veterans Memorial Center, Balboa Park, 2115 Park Boulevard, San Diego, in 1996.

Back in 1969, volunteers created two concrete monuments on Roman Catholic Diocese land here in Old Town. Plaques listed those from San Diego County who were killed or designated missing in action during the Vietnam War. Two more plaques full of names were added to the San Diego Peace Memorial in 1974. It was one of the first Vietnam War memorials in the United States.

In 1994 the diocese sold the property and the memorial was moved to the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park.

In 2014, on New Year’s Eve, I visited the the renamed Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial in Balboa Park.

You can revisit that old blog post by clicking here.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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Veterans Memorial in Encinitas: standing stone.

A cracked stone stands in Encinitas, enfolded by a rock wall whose ends appear unfinished. Those who walk past might pause and wonder.

The vertical stone seems timeless–like an ancient monolith.

When I first saw this unusual monument near the intersection of Encinitas Boulevard and Vulcan Avenue, I wondered what it might be.

Plaques near the standing stone explained this was a Veterans Memorial, established by the City of Encinitas, dedicated on December 7, 2003. It soon will be National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, when this memorial will be twenty years old.

I took photographs of the Veterans Memorial, then sought more information. I found this blog that transcribes the various plaques, one of which I didn’t observe during my walk. It reads:

These memorial walls are meant to be reminiscent of ancient walls, the shapes referring to “the waving flag.” Both ends of the large memorial wall are left unfinished, representing the unfinished lives of those who have perished in the line of duty. The large monolithic stone water feature within the memorial, trickles water slowly as tears, speaking back to those who mourn.

The ultimate goal in the design of this memorial wall is to offer a sense of quiet sympathy to the visitor, reminding those of us who take so much for granted, just how much others have given in protecting our freedoms.

Here’s an article from 2003 that provides a good explanation of the memorial and its creator, Michael Ames Clark, from nearby Cardiff.

I was interested to learn the artist’s vision was made real by landscape architects Schmidt Design Group. They’ve created dozens of outdoor projects around San Diego over the years. Their redesigned Children’s Park in downtown San Diego opened a couple weeks ago.

During past architectural Open House events, I enjoyed tours of their Waterfront Park and Briercrest Park. To enjoy those tours, click the links!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Fleet Week’s downtown Veterans Art Exhibit.

You have until 4 pm today (Sunday) to view Fleet Week San Diego’s special Active Duty Military & Veterans Art Exhibit. It’s open free to the public at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s old downtown location, at 1100 Kettner Boulevard.

If you’re watching the Veterans Day Parade along the Embarcadero today, you might enjoy stopping by afterward. It’s within easy walking distance.

The artwork covers several walls in the museum’s Melinda Farris Wortz Gallery. Diverse artists with different military experiences have pieces on display. Many of the works depict life in the military or on the battlefield–occasionally with a bit of humor. Other paintings include impressionistic landscapes and dreamlike visions. There’s even some fine nature photography!

I captured a few of the canvases…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

15th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony in National City.

This afternoon the 15th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony was held in Lincoln Acres, a small community encompassed by National City.

People from all over, feeling gratitude for United States military members and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, gathered at La Vista Memorial Park. There we listened to the emotionally stirring words of keynote speakers, including several historians. The Memorial Day Ceremony honored 30 Civil War Veterans buried in the hilltop cemetery.

Before the ceremony began, people wandered about the grass, looking down at markers and small American flags. People mingling near the event stage talked, and when the bagpipes started, they slowly took their seats. I heard birds singing.

I sat in a spot with a limited view of the proceedings. I was unable to photograph the Rifle Salute and Taps performed in the distance by the 82nd Airborne Division San Diego Chapter.

The scheduled WWII era aircraft flyover was cancelled due to the thick overcast.

Here are some of the highlights:

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division San Diego Chapter assemble among flags by the La Vista Memorial Park pond.

Charles Rosenberg plays bagpipes before the ceremony begins.

The California Army National Guard advances the colors.

Sophia Hoffman, a recent contestant on hit television show The Voice, sang the National Anthem beautifully.

All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation.

John Finch, retired US Navy Chief, read John A. Logan’s General Order No. 11, which called for a national day of remembrance for Civil War dead. It became the holiday Memorial Day.

Kathleen Winchester, President of the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, pays tribute to Civil War Veteran Milford Phillips, who died in San Diego and is buried nearby.

Mark Carlson, author and military historian, reads the Gettysburg Address. …we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. He encouraged us to thank all Veterans and current service members.

National City Mayor Ron Morrison recalls how Ely S. Parker, a Native American, who encountered mid-19th century bigotry, eventually rose to become adjutant and secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant.

National City and San Diego County dignitaries prepare to deliver a special recognition.

Tom McBride, 101 years old, is honored. He flew Corsairs with VMF-1 off the USS Bennington during World War II.

Dan Sutton, history teacher at West Hills High School, also gave a speech. (That’s him in my very first photograph.) He explained that many people from San Diego traveled east to fight in the Civil War. He also presented this display, which includes the 70 pounds of equipment, food and clothing a Union soldier would carry.

After the speeches a free lunch was provided to everyone. Good old American hot dogs. Many families were at the ceremony.

Flags mark the final resting places of those who fought for their country.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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Memorial Day Commemoration in Balboa Park.

Sometimes I find myself taking the broad freedoms we enjoy in this country for granted. Then I hear harrowing stories told by those who lived under brutal dictators and authoritarians.

This afternoon a moving Memorial Day Commemoration was held in San Diego. It took place at the International Cottages in Balboa Park.

There was patriotic music performed by the San Diego City Guard Band. There were tributes to those who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country. There was the reading of the famous In Flanders Fields poem, and the handing out of symbolic poppies.

There were guest speakers with powerful, painful memories of past wars fought. And there were many who were thankful to have come to our country, escaping from places where people have been denied freedom and human dignity.

I arrived at the Memorial Day Commemoration when it was about halfway through. I stayed a long while, listening.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Time capsule at Miramar National Cemetery.

Three years ago I visited Miramar National Cemetery during the weekend of Memorial Day. I took photographs and posted a blog concerning the cemetery’s Liberation statue, which is a powerful memorial to prisoners of war.

I didn’t realize at the time the statue contains a time capsule.

During a recent visit to the San Diego Veterans Museum, I observed a display concerning the time capsule.

San Diego Chapter 1 American Ex-Prisoners of War – WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, U.S.S. Pueblo. Greetings to the generation of 2045. Carefully enshrined in this time capsule are former prisoners of war’s actual experiences, stories of their lives before, during and after World War II, both European and Pacific Theaters, through all wars that followed to the capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo by the North Koreans in 1968.

The Time Capsule includes approximately 100 DVDs of member’s biographical testimonies video taped from 2002 to the statue’s placement September 2011. The capsule also includes Chapter support (PTSD) meetings, activities, documentaries, history of the chapter and statue, books, pictures and other memorabilia.

The sacrifices of many shall not be forgotten.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Balboa Park markers for police who died in combat.

Two markers in Balboa Park, not far from the entrance to the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center, remember and honor members of the San Diego Police Department who died in combat.

I knew nothing about these markers until I visited the San Diego Police Museum recently. A display on one wall included an old photograph and an explanation of the older marker and its plaque’s history.

Veterans War Museum Balboa Park

In 1953, a stone marker was dedicated to members of the San Diego Police Department who died in combat. Located at the base of a flag pole at the entrance to the San Diego Zoo, the marker eventually became overgrown and forgotten. The monument was relocated to the Balboa Park Veterans Museum. On May 14, 2014, it was rededicated. The master of ceremonies was former SDPD officer, now Brigadier General Paul K. Lebidine, USMC.

Other monuments in and around San Diego memorialize fallen law enforcement officers.

Those monuments that I’ve observed and photographed can be found here and here and here.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

League of Wives Memorial Project in Coronado.

A beautiful, very meaningful monument is planned for Coronado. What you see above is a small model of the proposed sculpture. I saw it today at the USS Midway Museum.

The League of Wives Memorial Project is creating this memorial that honors military spouses.

As the League of Wives website explains:

In a void of public awareness and seeming lack of political attention to the circumstances of prisoners of war in Vietnam, Sybil Stockdale and The League of Wives bravely stepped out of their era’s traditionally passive role of military spouses to demand the humane treatment of their POW husbands… their actions ultimately influenced a reduction in prisoner torture and contributed to the safe return of 591 Service Members… The League of Wives Memorial Project seeks to honor these women, telling their story… this memorial will be the first public monument in the country to honor military spouses…

I learned the bronze sculpture will be placed in Coronado’s Star Park. The figure of Sybil Stockdale will face a flagpole with military wives standing behind her. A plaque tells how the League of Wives of American Prisoners of War became a national movement that changed history.

The memorial’s artists are Chris Slatoff and Elisabeth Pollnow.

Permits for the memorial have been obtained, now additional funds are needed to complete the project.

Interested in helping? Learn more or donate by clicking here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!