A 15-foot veterans memorial — complete with military service seals, dedication plaques, lighting, and seating — is expected to be unveiled next to Rancho Santa Margarita City Hall in time for Memorial Day.
The approximately $70,000 project was approved last week by the City Council and construction should begin by March. It will be located in Central Park, adjacent to City Hall, near the three flagpoles. Its approval also required signoff from the Santa Margarita Landscape and Recreation Corporation, or SAMLARC, a master homeowners association that is the city’s largest and also oversees many of the city’s major facilities.
The planned memorial is the first significant nod to the military and its veterans in the city’s history, said Mayor Tony Beall, crediting Councilmember Anne Figueroa, who he said spearheaded the effort two years ago.
The memorial wall will go where a Boy Scouts of America plaque is currently set, which also gives credit to the military. That plaque will be moved to another meaningful spot at City Hall, Beall said.
“It will be located near a grove of trees where people can sit and contemplate about the sacrifices our veterans have made,” Beall said. “Thanks to their sacrifice, we’re free to live the quality of life we have. And, it’s also a friendly reminder to think of the nation’s military.”
Figueroa said she pursued the idea after visiting several south Orange County city halls and decided that since Rancho Santa Margarita hosts at least two significant patriotic events each year, it would be fitting to have a memorial in the spot where those events are held in Central Park. The community also adopted the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, based at Camp Pendleton, since 2007.
The memorial will have all of the nation’s service branch seals on one side, and on the other side, there will be plaques to memorialize local heroes.
“There are so many wonderful veterans here,” Figueroa said, adding that the memorial is becoming a reality this year because money for it had been set aside.
Local veterans, including Navy Chief Petty Officer Jim Clements and Vietnam veteran Harry Steelman, who is also Commander of VFW Post 6024, praised the council’s actions.
“Being a veteran is earned — it can never be taken away,” Clements said during the council meeting approving the monument. “This monument will stand as a beacon of light for those who have served.”
And, Steelman explained why having a place for veterans to go and reflect matters.
“There are days when veterans just need somewhere quiet to sit, remember, and reflect,” he said. “A monument like this becomes a place of healing andconnection — something every community should provide its veterans.”