Santa Monica’s Fallen War Vets to Get Memorial

By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

August 8, 2012 -- Santa Monica will honor its military dead with a memorial plaque after a summer–long project indentified 97 locals who died in America’s foreign wars over the past century.

At the suggestion of Council member Bob Holbrook, the City Manager’s office employed an intern to look through the records of Santa Monica’s war dead going as far back as 1875, when the City was first incorporated.

“I thought of it on the morning of Memorial Day,” said Holbrook, who was scheduled to give the Memorial Day speech in Woodlawn Cemetery later that day.

“I walked the area where there are a lot of veterans’ graves,” he said. “It occurred to me that, obviously, there are a lot who weren’t buried there.

“Some died in action, some are buried where they fell,” he said. “Others were prisoners of war.”

Holbrook’s idea was simple: identify Santa Monicans -- not buried in Woodlawn Cemetery -- who died in combat, who went missing in action, who died while prisoners of war, or who were killed during their service.

The project would include all Santa Monicans who died during wartime, even if their deaths weren’t combat related.

Now that the veterans have been identified, Holbrook said, he wants to see a plaque or some sort of small monument with a list of their names somewhere in the City, so family members can bring flowers to the site.

On Memorial Day morning, he shared his idea with Mayor Richard Bloom.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea and I commend Councilmember Holbrook for bringing it to the City Council,” Bloom told The Lookout Tuesday.

The collection of nearly 100 names spans a large swath of American history.

Though the first American war after Santa Monica was incorporated was the Spanish-American War, which started in April 1898, there are no records of any from the sea side city who fought in the four-month-long conflict.

Gina Marie Vollucci, the intern working with the City Manager’s Office, managed to find eight Santa Monica residents who were killed during World War I through the National Archives and Records Administration.

The bulk of those who lost their lives died during the Second World War. From 1941 to 1945, 51 Santa Monicans died while fighting in the European and Pacific theaters.

Thirty-six Santa Monicans died fighting proxy wars during the Cold War, with 13 killed in the Korean War and 23 killed in Vietnam.

According to the research, one Santa Monica resident was killed in the Gulf War.

But Assistant City Manager Elaine Palacheck said that by no means was the list exhaustive.

“First, we have to get direction from Council,” she said, “then we can release the list to the public and see if anyone has relatives who should be on it.”

The matter will go before the council at the August 14 meeting where the details of the memorial, including potential locations, will be discussed.

“This memorial is so we will always remember our native sons and daughters who died in service of our country,” said Holbrook.