By Mary O’KEEFE

The Memorial Day commemoration held at the Vietnam Memorial at the corner of Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue was led by former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Steve Pierce. The event honored all fallen military soldiers and special acknowledgement was paid to the local fallen. 

The event began with music from bagpiper Bobby Kilgore who solemnly played “Amazing Grace” as he walked in the crosswalk at Honolulu toward the Vietnam Memorial. 

“It is my privilege to be here today to honor our local fallen. The Vietnam Memorial is one of the first of its kind [in the U.S.] and is a part of Montrose,” said GiGi Garcia, president of Montrose Shopping Park Association (MSPA). 

She then thanked all of those who helped with organizing the event including Molly Burke, CEO/President Montrose Verdugo Chamber of Commerce, Dale Dawson, MSPA event coordinator, and Pierce. She also thanked veterans Chuck Hughes, Lynn McGinnis and Pierce for their care of the Montrose Vietnam Memorial. 

The Montrose Vietnam Memorial is recognized as the first memorial in the U.S. that honored local soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. It was dedicated on June 14, 1968. Veterans and community members have continued to care for the memorial.  There are 24 names on the war memorial. 

“We gather in the shadow of these names,” said Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian, one of the speakers at the event. “Names etched in stone, but more importantly, names etched into the story of our city and our nation.”
Kassakhian spoke of those who the wall honors and remembers, and also that it is a place of reflection by those who “answered the call of duty.” He spoke of the diversity of those who chose, and continue to choose, to join the military to defend their country. He spoke of the Black servicemen and women who served the nation with courage, even while facing segregation and discrimination at home. He added that Japanese Americans volunteered and fought with “extraordinary valor, while some of their own families lived behind barbed wire in internment camps” during WWII.

“Memorial Day reminds us that service has never belonged only to citizens or to those who were born here. It is a responsibility carried by many, those in uniforms and those at home supporting them,” he said. 

Assemblymember Nick Schultz was also a speaker at the event. He thanked all of the first responders who were on hand at the event, including law enforcement from Glendale, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. and California Highway Patrol, and those from fire departments in Glendale and LA County. 

He spoke of the 250th anniversary of the United States. 

“We’re nearly 250 years into this grand experiment, something unlike anything that the globe has ever seen,” he said. 

He spoke of the price that was paid from the beginning of the Republic. 

“When I look at the names etched in stone in front of us, each of these people paid the ultimate price, leaving the only home they’d ever known, often dying on foreign shores, for people they would never meet,” he said. 

He thanked those who brought young children to the commemoration to show them the day was not about barbecues and having a day off but “it’s about coming together, recognizing how great this country is, and paying tribute to those who gave everything.”

“Our union isn’t perfect,” he said. “We disagree from time to time, and that is exactly the point – we can do that in a democratic way, in a peaceful way.”

Schultz said a way to honor those fallen soldiers, those names on the wall, was to leave a better world for our children … a world of peace where one day war and conflict will be a relic. 

“The other thing is we can’t let [youth] forget,” he said. “So the one thing I ask of all of you … especially those with our kids … come forward before you leave and pick any name off the stone here … and learn about them. Go to your library, take to the internet but learn their story, who they were, where they came from and what they sacrificed. In that small way, if we all do that in our own hearts, we can take their story with us and ensure that they are never forgotten.”

A service was also held at Two Strike Park in La Crescenta. The JR ROTC of Crescenta Valley High School, Unit 882, presented the colors and performed the moving POW/MIA table ceremony.

The national anthem was performed by the group Monday@JoJo’s, who also performed patriotic music during the event.

Particularly moving was the playing of “Amazing Grace” and “Taps” by bugler Col. Larry Icenogle, retired U.S. Army. The crowd of about 100 people was also moved when hearing the poem “More Than A Name on a Wall,” read by Annie Babson.

Veteran Ron Millman also read every name on the wall. Three of those who died in service were also highlighted: the stories of Stephen A. Golsh, William A. Pedersen and Gregory P. Kelly were shared, reminding those present that these were local men who had dreams and aspirations.

Recognized for being Purple Heart recipients were veterans Bob Keiter, U.S. Marine Corps – Korea, Dave Kinney, U.S. Marine Crops – Vietnam, Paul Walker, U.S. Army – Vietnam and Andre Prado, U.S. Army – Global War on Terrorism.

Members of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution were present at the ceremony. In addition to serving coffee and doughnuts, the group presented a wreath as did veterans from American Legion Post 288 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614.

The morning closed with remarks from veterans Lynn McGinnis and Victor Bustillos.

Robin Goldsworthy contributed to this story.

Photos by Robin GOLDSWORTHY, Donna LIBRA and Mary O’KEEFE