Local Veteran Groups Propose to Expand War Memorial at Two-Strike

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1614 and American Legion Post 288 are proposing a plan to restore and expand the war memorial at Two Strike Memorial Park. The plan was to be presented to the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation yesterday, Thursday, May 10. Along with the expansion of the war memorial, the veterans groups are seeking the right to hold their own ceremonies on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

The proposal includes the expansion of the Memorial Wall and the cleaning and refinishing of the existing bronze plaque. The wall expansion would include a new top stone with the words "Heroes Of Freedom" and the seals from each of the services. The two new side stones will display the names of all the military personnel who have lost their lives in combat beginning with World War II and then continuing through all current and future conflicts.

The estimated cost for the project is $25,000 to $30,000. The two local veteran groups would like to undertake the responsibility of fundraising, constructing and maintaining the Memorial Wall.

Currently, a Memorial Day service is held every year at the site of the war memorial in the Montrose Shopping Park on the corner of Honolulu Ave and Ocean View. However, according to Junior Vice Commander of VFW Post 1614, Roy Allmon, "There has been a conflict between the veterans and the people from the Montrose Park Association over what is going to be done at the Memorial Day service, and we feel we'd have more control by doing our own."

The current war memorial at Two-Strike was dedicated on July 4, 1959 and is mounted on a mortar and stone wall at the southeast end of the park. The memorial can be easily missed. The only thing signaling attention to it is the flagpole that stands next to it, which is another reason the veteran groups would like to see the Two-Strike monument expanded.

"I would like to see us update the war memorial and also to add the names of all the fallen veterans from our local area. The war memorial has been there since the mid-1950s and has been somewhat ignored and we'd like to work with the VFW post 1614 to bring it up to date," said Mike Baldwin, Adjutant of the American Legion Post 288.

The criteria for a name to be displayed includes the person must have lost his/her life in combat in the service with the US Army, US Air Force, US Navy, US Marines, or US Coast Guard. Also, the person must have been a resident of the geographic area of the Crescenta Valley at the time of their service.

VFW Post 1614 and American Legion Post 288 are still in the process of deciding on an exact definition of the geographic area of Crescenta Valley.