(KERO) — Kern County's World War II memorial honors the sacrifice of our local men and women who died and survived. The granite slabs that bear their names will be updated with another 173 veterans next month.
It's been four months since a massive crowd of attendees crowded into Jastro Park to witness the unveiling of the World War II Memorial in Bakersfield.
With the names of the nearly 700 local men killed in action during the war on the front panels and more than 800 living and now deceased on the back. And next month they will be adding even more.
"Because we had a cutoff date of the end of August, and these were people who came here or found out after the fact. 'Oh my Uncle Howard was a WWII veteran, let's honor him.' How many more are out there," asked Ed Gaede, the president of the board of directors for the WWII committee. "It's scary, cause we have limited room. We can't magically find another 9-foot-tall black granite piece. We've left room but because we can't make everything alphabetical, except by engraving dedication. Plus is significant because those have still not come home are missing in action. That's what this is all about. Honoring our veterans. We have extra money left over from our community being so supportive. And now we have to take a long look at our vision and purpose to further honor our veterans."
If you'd like to attend the next unveiling ceremony that's being called a scaled-down version of the first one it's scheduled for Saturday, May 20 at 10 a.m.
And if you'd like to get your loved one's name added to the memorial, go to the Kern County WWII Memorial website and click on the link. Each name engraved on the granite costs $250.
