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Grand Terrace monument to commemorate veterans

Ryan Hagen and David Johnson the blog king ..... Staff Writer/
Posted: 05/27/2012 07:06:39 AM PDT

GRAND TERRACE - A veterans group begins a fundraising drive Monday to build a monument they hope will honor the contributions of those who've fought and in some cases died for their country.
That gift is hard to appreciate, members said, but after months of planning they've designed a statement to express it in one word:

FREEDOM.

The design, which received City Council approval Tuesday, would proclaim that message with 6-foot-tall block letters in Pico Park, said Bob Lavin, chairman of Grand Terrace Veterans Organization.

"We have to acknowledge all the veterans that sacrificed their lives so we can have the freedom that we have, and also to honor all veterans from all wars," said Lavin, who served in the army during the Vietnam era. "We didn't want just another plaque that would be overlooked. I've been to many parts of the country, and I've never seen that kind of design. I've seen thousands and never one like this."

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Veterans Day 2011, along a city owned strip of land along the fence bordering Grand Terrace High School, 140 feet long by 16 feet wide.

But the five-person organization in charge of the project waited to begin fundraising in earnest until the plan was finalized and approved, said designer Don Larkin.

"We're kicking off, symbolically at least, on Memorial Day," said Larkin, who fought in the Army during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said the group plans to contact businesses and individuals nationwide, and the reaction at the City Council meeting gave them encouragement.

"People were really emotional about it, and they thought it was great," Larkin said. "I think we can get the support we need and have something we can be proud of."

He estimates the project will cost $100,000 to $120,000 and be done by Veterans Day 2013.

But the center section - an American flag that will constantly be lit from below - should be done by November of this year, so the Boy Scout installing it for an Eagle Scout project can meet his requirements, he said.

Flags for each branch of the military and for prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action will fly on special occasions, according to the plan.

The plan also calls for up to 1,850 plaques honoring individual veterans, with "GT" inscribed on plaques for Grand Terrace residents.

People interested in reserving a plaque or volunteering time or money, can visit www.gtveterans.org or call Larkin at 951-756-4711.

He said donations are tax-deductible as the group is a subcommittee of the Foundation of Grand Terrace, a nonprofit organization.

Get the latest Grand Terrace news on Twitter @GrandTerraceNow.

Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20723022/grand-ter...

Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Monday, May 28th 2012 at 4:59AM
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TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE,,will you help !
and help support vets !

every click /like,,, is 25 cents !

Monday, May 28th 2012 at 5:04AM
DAVID JOHNSON

<<<<<Monday, May 28th 2012 at 5:05AM
DAVID JOHNSON

I LIVE RIGHT DOWN THE STREET !
Monday, May 28th 2012 at 5:36AM
DAVID JOHNSON

Marines pronounce the word, "OohRah!

I am a native NEW YORKER BORN AND RAISED IN HARLEM NEW YORK,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, New York New York big city of dreams ,,,,,Yea DREAMS of getting the hell out of Harlem,,,, dreams of leaving the drug infested streets dreams of changing the shooting gallery's/drug dens into schools but me I did not want to be a drug dealer or a dope fen I wanted to be a part of something different so I enrolled in the marines !

I could not get in the air force so the marines took me in ,,,,shot in the ass and off to boot camp what a trip !
TALK ABOUT RACISM marines was not for blacks at that time and they let you know they dident want ''*****s' in the marines whites did not want to see a 6..3 black boy from New York in there camp ,,,brothers was coming back from the war beat down shot up hook on the morphine pack USA issued only to get hooked on that china white heroine USA issued I was there I seen it all !

I wanted to get the hell out of Harlem and the marines seem to be my only hope I was sent to boot camp Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC 12 weeks of training first aide, leadership, core rules, martial arts,back then hazing was nothing bur a race war between blacks and whites ,I want to give up and leave many times and they dident care another ***** gone but I thought about the streets of HARLEM and that was enough to fight on !

around week 7 they gave me the sweet m16 riffle and my life changed I had a new leaf on life it was something in the pulling that trigger and hitting the target that brought new life to me ,they taught me how to fire and look through the target
strength training was nothing after that I was growing and becoming a man a marine **** I got gun ho big headed a fighting marine you dident have to be book smart but you did have to have a lot of heart ,courage you know a no fear mind set
week 8 ,9 10 i was going through Basic Warrior Training called line A OR A LINE
then it was time for the make it or brake it test ,,time to put all that training on the line and see what you was really made of ,,it was time for the Crucible the final test in training,I had to put all the skills and knowledge in this last task 2 days 8 hours in the field a 50 mile march through the woods with typical combat situations very little food and about 4 -6 hrs sleep !

I was giving 4 MRE and offer we went ,,everything was team work team work team work if you dident have help in the task you could not make it i mean from carrying the wounded to fire fights to infiltrating the other-side Some of the challenges encountered during the Crucible was team and individual obstacle courses, day and night assault courses, land navigation courses, individual rushes up steep hills, large-scale martial arts challenges, and countless patrols to and from each of these. Often, these challenges are made even more difficult by the additions of limitations or handicaps, such as the requirement to carry several ammunition drums, not touching portions of an obstacle painted red to indicate simulated booby traps, and evacuating team members with simulated wounds.
On the final day of the Crucible, recruits are awoken and begin their final march (including "The Reaper" a forced march up a steeply inclined hill to the top of Edson's Ridge on the west coast). Immediately following this, recruits are offered the "Warrior's Breakfast", thats it right there I made it THE Warrior's Breakfast is when all the racism is gone all the fear is gone ,and friendships are started bonds are created we made now we get to eat as much as we want , even of previously forbidden foods you name it ,even ice cream and then you think everyone wants to go to sleep hell i was gunnnnnhoooo for at least 5,8 hours because I made it ,i was a marine and I made out the hood I was no longer a boy from from HARLEM i was a man am UNITED STATES MARINE !
the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor ceremony, where the recruits receive the eponymous emblem, and thereby cease to be recruits, finally becoming Marines. In recent years, this ceremony has been moved to the day before graduation, and signals the start of Family Day....THIS IS PART OF MY BOOK CALLED
'' I AM A MARINE ''

Monday, May 28th 2012 at 5:38AM
DAVID JOHNSON