BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Jastro Park was bustling on December 7 as hundreds of residents showed up for the final dedication of names at the WWII Memorial.
- Roughly $250,000 was raised in order to erect this memorial.
- G.W Walker is a veteran whose name appears on the memorial. He would have turned 100 years old in 2024.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“This was a beautiful ceremony and it’s a wonderful remembrance,” said Theresa Walker, who attended the dedication in order to finally see her father’s name on the memorial.
“He was a great man, a wonderful father.”
Originally unveiled in 2022, the Kern County World War Two Memorial in Jastro park features a bronze sculpture –
“The statue represents a woman holding her child, and she has just received that dreaded telegram from the war department informing her of the death of her loved one,” one of the speakers explained at the ceremony.
– and is surrounded by large plaques with the names of veterans on them. On Saturday, the final names were added to the memorial, completing it.
“It was a labor of love for all of us, all the fundraisers we did.”
Dan Schaffer is a veteran who spoke at the event and was on the original Board of Directors for the Kern County WW2 Memorial.
He said they raised 250,000 dollars to put it together.
“It’s just a gratifying thing to honor that greatest generation.”
The event also commemorated those who died during Pearl Harbor, with a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the attack and a public reading of the poems.
“Even though very few got out and were saved, we know that they still fought because they were strong and brave,” a speaker read.
“It just choked everybody up, I cried the whole time,” Walker said.
Walker told me her dad died roughly ten years ago now, and she’s appreciated his name will be immortalized in the memorial.
“I’m just proud that I can recognize him as well,” Walker said.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
