The ''Cerritos Veterans Memorial'', located in Cerritos, California is a sculpture dedicated in honor of local veterans. The sculpture is part of a "Cerritos Veterans Project," which seeks to preserve the stories of veterans who are current or former residents of the City of Cerritos. The sculpture, which was designed and built by artist James T. Russell, sits on the grounds of the Cerritos Civic Center.

The memorial

The memorial was dedicated at the first annual

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

ceremony on November 11, 2006. The memorial contains a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

sculpture in the shape of a

flame A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

atop a reflecting pool. There are five pedestals surrounding the pool, each containing the

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

of one branch of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and the Coast Guard. Off to the side, there are two other pedestals, one in honor of the Merchant Marine, and another honoring all 32 groups who were recognized by Congress for their efforts during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The memorial serves as a focal point for the various official city ceremonies which have a patriotic theme. The dedication ceremony in 2006 served as the city's first annual

ceremony, and the first annual Memorial Day ceremony took place in 2008.There was a small private Memorial Day ceremony at the memorial in 2007, which served as the seed for the official ceremonies which started in 2008 Starting in 2007, the city also moved its ''Let Freedom Ring'' ceremony to celebrate the Fourth of July to the grounds around the ''Cerritos Veterans Memorial'',Prior to 2007, the ceremony took place at Cerritos Park East and in 2010 the city held its Patriot Day concert in that venue.

Controversies

Memorial design

During the November 22, 2005, Cerritos City Council meeting, a controversy erupted as to whether there should be a sixth pedestal around the pool with the emblem of the Merchant Marine. After a very long public discussion, a compromise was reached where it was decided to put a pedestal with the emblem of the Merchant Marine, but place that pedestal off to the side and not include it with the emblems of the 5 primary branches. In order to be sensitive to other groups, it was also decided to have a pedestal honoring all the groups recognized by Congress for the contributions during

and

Notes

References

External links

Description page for the memorial
at the City of Cerritos website
Cerritos Veterans Project homepageJames T. Russell's (memorial's artist) official hompeage
{{Cerritos, California Cerritos, California Military monuments and memorials in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 2006