Thousands of men and women from Kern County served during World War II, including in the Pacific theater where many fought in key events such as the Battle of Guadalcanal.
On May 21, the Kern County World War II Veterans Memorial Committee will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony for a new memorial of the same name at Jastro Park in Bakersfield.
Immediately following the ceremony, a $15 donation will buy lunch with the proceeds going towards the construction of the memorial.
According to the committee, the memorial is meant to honor Kern County’s World War II veterans and “those who supported them.” The memorial will also feature the names of all 684 Kern County veterans who died while serving during the war. Additionally, the memorial will display the names of “organizations that supported the war effort.” More specifically, in an interview with ABC 23, committee president Ed Gaede says the memorial will also honor the “Rosie the Riveters”, the nurse corps, the Red Cross, the USO, and more.
The memorial was unanimously approved early last September by the Bakersfield City Council. The resulting resolution stipulates that the committee will fund construction efforts—around $500,000—after which the city will cover maintenance.
Currently, the committee expects the memorial to be completed by this year’s Veterans Day. According to the committee’s website, meetings to discuss the status of the memorial are held every second Tuesday of each month.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
