John Waters Jr./The Weekly Calistogan photos
An Air Force Color Guard prepares to post colors, a presentation of the American and California flags, while Laura Murphy of Calistoga sings the national anthem during the dedication ceremony of the new Veterans Memorial Plaza at Logvy Park in Calistoga. The memorial has six columns, one dedicated to each of the military services. Names of veterans can be seen engraved into the bricks on the plaza in front of the columns.
Calistoga veterans unveil new monument in Logvy Park
300 Bricks, 300 stories
By John Waters Jr.
Editor
Calistoga’s veterans hit a milestone they’ve been working toward for at least a decade, the official opening of a memorial to all of the nation’s veterans.
The unofficial estimate of the numbers who attended the event ranged from 300 to 500.
“There were 150 chairs set out, and the number of people standing were easily double that,” said one of the three veterans who conceived the idea in the late 1990s. “It was an amazing turnout and show of support by the community of its veterans.”
More than 10 years ago, Jim Barnes, along with Paul Coates and William Albright, started talking about creating a memorial for anyone who had served in any branch of the military. Since those early days, the men have repeatedly had to emphasize that the memorial honored the veteran — it is not a war memorial.
“Any veteran can be honored here,” said Barnes. “With every brick you see with someone’s name on it, you see a different story of the cost of war, and those who paid that cost.”
300 bricks, 300 stories
One of the bricks has special meaning for Barnes, a retired insurance industry executive. It was the brick dedicated to “the five O’Reilly brothers.”
“My mom came from a family of 17, and five of her brothers served in the Pacific during the Second World War,” Barnes said. “All of them made it back but one.”
“But there are so many stories here,” Barnes said. “So many tales of sacrifice.”
When Doug Sterk, one of a virtual army of men and women who made the memorial possible, reflected on one brick that moved him spiritually (see last week’s Calistogan) his reflections were right on, according to Jay Richolson, a Calistoga real estate professional.
“That brick, which reads that it is dedicated to ‘one of the uncounted casualties’ is in honor of my brother,” Richolson said. “He was a Vietnam veteran who came back from the war a changed person, fighting the images of war in his mind day and night.”
Richolson said he was moved that Sterk’s observation was so discerning of the price his brother had paid for the nation.
Wednesday’s dedication
From Travis Air Force Base, to San Diego, to Calistoga, people came to be a part of last week’s Veterans Memorial dedication. Many were veterans, many more were not. Arnold Enderlin, a retired Calistoga electrician and veteran, was there, marveling at the beauty of the six columns, and the names — including his own — engraved in stone beneath his feet.
Susanna Kraus, a Calistoga letter carrier was not in her customary pith helmet, or her United States Postal Service uniform, but she was in uniform — that of the United States Army.
“This is an amazing memorial,” said Kraus — whose name tag didn’t read Kraus, but Wickizer.
The two veterans, along with the hundreds of others, were called to attention by Sean O’Neill, a senior member of the Calistoga Boy Scout Troop 18. With military — almost mechanical — precision, an honor guard from Travis Air Force Base posted the flags of the nation, of California and of the U.S. Air Force before the six pillars of the memorial — one dedicated to each branch of the military that serves the nation.
Working together, Barnes and Coates — who is also the commander of the local American Legion — presented encased flags to each of those who played a significant roles in making the memorial possible.
Those honored included the late Bill Albright, architect J.C. Miller, Dick Blakely, Dan Bazzoli, Wes Sakai, Kathy Flamson, Doug Sterk, Rich Peters, Irene Speigel, Paul Dubois, Debbie and Gene Duffy, and Jim Herndon.
A flight crew from the U.S. Coast Guard was also honored — in absentia.
A Coast Guard C-130 transport plane — a huge vessel that would have shaken the ground had it lumbered over the Calistoga memorial site — was lost at sea just days before its crew was scheduled to participate in the memorial. Participating in an ocean search for a lost fishing boat not far from San Diego, the plane collided with a U.S. Marine helicopter. All aboard both aircraft perished.
A special wreath was hung upon the pillar dedicated to the U.S. Coast Guard by Joan Albright, widow of Bill Albright, and Ken Flynn.
“I was extremely honored when I was asked to help,” Albright said. “I helped because Bill was not there to help. The memorial is more beautiful than I would have ever imagined. The people of Calistoga have come together and done something beautiful.”
The Plaza
In addition to raising about $250,000 to make the memorial a reality, the memorial contains some 1,800 brick pavers and, so far, about 300 bricks inscribed with names of veterans, some going as far back as the Revolutionary War. Additional donated services and labor were estimated to be worth more than $100,000.
The memorial, a 2,500-square-foot plaza, is across the parking lot from Calistoga’s new pool in the 10-acre Logvy Park.
“We’ve received support of every city council since we first proposed the idea,” said Coates. “There are so many people who have stepped up to make this possible, with donations of labor or materials or both.”
Since the memorial’s dedication, Barnes said they have gotten more requests for bricks with the names of veterans on them. They plan to add more in the spring, he said.