Murrieta Veterans Memorial Important for Education
Newswire Services
May 22, 2010
Murrieta, CA – As part of a fundraising effort for the new Murrieta Veterans Memorial, an invitation-only gala was held last night at the Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta. General Richard B. Myers, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the honored speaker.
In front of 150 prestigious guests, the general spoke about our children who will inherit this great country and the importance of teaching them that the freedoms we hold dear were hard won through the sacrifices of many; that it is their responsibility to keep this nation on the right path and in its prominent position in order to best serve all the peoples of the world.
We believe in human dignity and freedom, General Myers said in his speech.
The memorial, General Myers explained, is just one step in ensuring the continued education and memory of everything those men and women gave for our country.
"Honoring our veterans and the many sacrifices they have made and continue to make is important to us as a City," said Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. "It is even more important, as General Myers stated, to make sure our children understand what was sacrificed to get here and that they forever hold that sacred. The Veterans Memorial will serve as a reminder and a place to learn."
Myers retired from his position as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2005. In this capacity, he served as the nation´s highest-ranking military officer and was the principal military adviser to the President, the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Myers now serves as a director of Deere & Company, Northrop Grumman, United Technologies, and Aon Corporation. He is the foundation professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University and holds the Colin Powell chair of character, leadership and ethics at National Defense University.
For more information on fundraising and sponsorship opportunities for the Murrieta Veterans Memorial, please contact Jim Holston, Assistant City Manager, at (951) 304-2489.
General Myers joined the Air Force in 1965 through the ROTC program at Kansas State University, where he holds a Bachelor´s degree in mechanical engineering. The general went on to earn a Master´s in business administration from Auburn University, then attended the Air Command and Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, and the program for senior executives in national and international security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
A command pilot, he has more than 4,100 flying hours, primarily in the F-4, F-15 and F-16, including 600 combat hours in the F-4. The general has commanded at all levels and served in significant staff positions throughout the Air Force.
Myers now serves as a director of Deere & Company, Northrop Grumman, United Technologies, and Aon Corporation. He is the foundation professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University and holds the Colin Powell chair of character, leadership and ethics at National Defense University.
The purpose of the Veteran´s Memorial Monument is to create and maintain a dignified Veterans memorial reflecting contributions made by veterans from all branches of the military throughout the history of the United States, and to acknowledge and honor the courage, commitment, and heroism demonstrated by all Veterans past and present. This monument will be located at the Murrieta Town Square Park, within the courtyard of the City Hall, the Police Department, the Murrieta Public Library, and the Senior Center. The convenient location will provide easy access to residents and visitors with ample parking. In addition, this monument will provide a picturesque backdrop to annual events that currently take place at the Town Square Park. A committee of local residents has been meeting monthly to provide ideas, create a mission statement, and review images to be etched onto the granite walls.
The concept for this monument is predicated on the fact that in each conflict, lives and countries were pulled into, abruptly interrupted by, and intertwined with moments of intense passion and conflict, commitment and escape, euphoria and desperation. A meandering decomposed granite path is designed to be at the base of the memorial walls, winding through the existing "V" pattern of the Town Square Park to represent those feelings and commitments.
An obelisk with an inlaid granite American flag set in a base honoring the five branches of the military (Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force) will be the highest visual identification of the memorial and will be easily seen throughout the plaza for all to identify. Seven individual walls of black granite will represent each conflict: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. These walls will be etched with images of those that served taken from pictures of actual events or from renderings. Each wall is set in a chronological time line to be viewed from both pathways, but is also set to interrupt the decomposed granite path that links the monument walls. It is this interruption that symbolizes those struggles and abrupt interruption of life. The heights and shapes represented in the inclined and buried portions of the walls symbolize the moments of rise and fall in events that occurred during these conflicts.
A wall, dedicated in honor of those missing in action, is represented away from both main pathways in a shrub planter. Images of all five levels of service are etched into the granite.
In front of 150 prestigious guests, the general spoke about our children who will inherit this great country and the importance of teaching them that the freedoms we hold dear were hard won through the sacrifices of many; that it is their responsibility to keep this nation on the right path and in its prominent position in order to best serve all the peoples of the world.
We believe in human dignity and freedom, General Myers said in his speech.
The memorial, General Myers explained, is just one step in ensuring the continued education and memory of everything those men and women gave for our country.
"Honoring our veterans and the many sacrifices they have made and continue to make is important to us as a City," said Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. "It is even more important, as General Myers stated, to make sure our children understand what was sacrificed to get here and that they forever hold that sacred. The Veterans Memorial will serve as a reminder and a place to learn."
Myers retired from his position as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2005. In this capacity, he served as the nation´s highest-ranking military officer and was the principal military adviser to the President, the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Myers now serves as a director of Deere & Company, Northrop Grumman, United Technologies, and Aon Corporation. He is the foundation professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University and holds the Colin Powell chair of character, leadership and ethics at National Defense University.
For more information on fundraising and sponsorship opportunities for the Murrieta Veterans Memorial, please contact Jim Holston, Assistant City Manager, at (951) 304-2489.
General Myers joined the Air Force in 1965 through the ROTC program at Kansas State University, where he holds a Bachelor´s degree in mechanical engineering. The general went on to earn a Master´s in business administration from Auburn University, then attended the Air Command and Staff College, the U.S. Army War College, and the program for senior executives in national and international security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
A command pilot, he has more than 4,100 flying hours, primarily in the F-4, F-15 and F-16, including 600 combat hours in the F-4. The general has commanded at all levels and served in significant staff positions throughout the Air Force.
Myers now serves as a director of Deere & Company, Northrop Grumman, United Technologies, and Aon Corporation. He is the foundation professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University and holds the Colin Powell chair of character, leadership and ethics at National Defense University.
The purpose of the Veteran´s Memorial Monument is to create and maintain a dignified Veterans memorial reflecting contributions made by veterans from all branches of the military throughout the history of the United States, and to acknowledge and honor the courage, commitment, and heroism demonstrated by all Veterans past and present. This monument will be located at the Murrieta Town Square Park, within the courtyard of the City Hall, the Police Department, the Murrieta Public Library, and the Senior Center. The convenient location will provide easy access to residents and visitors with ample parking. In addition, this monument will provide a picturesque backdrop to annual events that currently take place at the Town Square Park. A committee of local residents has been meeting monthly to provide ideas, create a mission statement, and review images to be etched onto the granite walls.
The concept for this monument is predicated on the fact that in each conflict, lives and countries were pulled into, abruptly interrupted by, and intertwined with moments of intense passion and conflict, commitment and escape, euphoria and desperation. A meandering decomposed granite path is designed to be at the base of the memorial walls, winding through the existing "V" pattern of the Town Square Park to represent those feelings and commitments.
An obelisk with an inlaid granite American flag set in a base honoring the five branches of the military (Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Air Force) will be the highest visual identification of the memorial and will be easily seen throughout the plaza for all to identify. Seven individual walls of black granite will represent each conflict: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. These walls will be etched with images of those that served taken from pictures of actual events or from renderings. Each wall is set in a chronological time line to be viewed from both pathways, but is also set to interrupt the decomposed granite path that links the monument walls. It is this interruption that symbolizes those struggles and abrupt interruption of life. The heights and shapes represented in the inclined and buried portions of the walls symbolize the moments of rise and fall in events that occurred during these conflicts.
A wall, dedicated in honor of those missing in action, is represented away from both main pathways in a shrub planter. Images of all five levels of service are etched into the granite.
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