Veterans monument dedication date announced, site progress continues

The Northern California Coastal Veterans Monument (NCCVM) now has a date for its dedication, as crews continue moving through the construction to-do list at the Point Arena Lighthouse peninsula site.

The dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, the weekend before Veterans Day.

Organizers originally considered holding the ceremony on Veterans Day itself, but opted for the Saturday before the holiday after hearing from potential attendees.

“It turns out we’ve got a lot of interest from people who’ll be traveling in order to see the dedication,” NCCVM board secretary Kent Busley said.

Organizers are still working out the details of the ceremony, with more information about the agenda expected closer to the date. But one part of the celebration is already taking shape.

NCCVM is partnering with the Gualala-based Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild (PPQG) to create Veteran Honor Quilts that acknowledge the service and sacrifice of veterans attending the dedication ceremony.

“A lot of love is going into making these things,” Busley said.

Some of the honor quilts were displayed on July 4 at Gualala Arts Center (GAC), and more will be shown during this weekend’s Art in the Redwoods festival at GAC.

Veterans interested in receiving a quilt at the ceremony will need to register in advance by filling out the form available at norcalcoastvetsmonument.org/register.

While the dedication committee continues planning, crews are continuing construction at the monument site, with Busley documenting the progress along the way.

The final concrete pour, including the walkways and small parking area, was completed in early July.

After the concrete cured, Precision Crane Service returned to install the monument’s five large basalt benches. The company also installed the monument’s columns in April.

Busley said the company really lived up to its name. “It was some kind of precision crane work. You didn’t want to be having those benches bouncing around between the columns for sure, but these folks really knew what they were doing.”

This week, crews began laying the flagstone that will cover the concrete surfaces. Busley said the work is expected to take a couple of weeks.

“It’s a really pretty kind of grayish-brown. It really sets off the columns and the benches very well, I think,” Busley said.

Busley said the monument’s centerpiece, a carved basalt eternal flame commissioned from sculptor Kevin Carman, is on track for completion and installation by mid-October.

Final touches will include two informational bronze plaques and restoration of the surrounding landscape with native plants.

The “Names Project” has also progressed since the monument’s last update. The initial lists of veterans’ names has been turned over to the engraver.

Six granite slabs are expected to be filled with names in time for dedication day. Each weighs approximately 600 pounds and holds about 32 names, meaning roughly 200 names are expected to be represented at the dedication.

Busley said names for the initial group of slabs may still be submitted through approximately the first week of September for inclusion at the Nov. 7 dedication.

The monument was designed so additional slabs can be added as more people choose to honor veterans.

“We want it to be a living monument, and we want people later to be able to come out and say, ‘I’d like my family member or me or whomever on the monument,’” Busley said. “We’re building it so that we can add these additional 32-person slabs as people want them.”

Busley is not a veteran himself, but his father served during World War II.

“It just seemed like such a neat thing to do for veterans, and especially the ones that came back from Vietnam to kind of a mixed review and didn’t really get the kind of recognition and appreciation of sacrifices other veterans have,” Busley said. “And there’s a lot of sensitivity out there among those veterans that I’ve talked to.”

Busley has been involved with NCCVM since shortly before the project received Coastal Commission approval, helping guide the project through the past four years of planning and construction.

“I’ve seen a lot, but I haven’t seen as much as everybody else,” Busley said. “It’s a fabulous feeling to see it come together.”

For more information about the project, visit norcalcoastvetsmonument.org.