A new memorial honoring the nearly 7,000 military service members killed in action since 9/11 is set to be unveiled in Long Beach on Memorial Day.
A 1,200 foot long section of a pre-existing wall at Rosie the Riveter Park will hold ten granite slabs engraved with the names of the fallen.
The Honoring Our Fallen Memorial Wall will list the names of those 6,864 who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, of Temecula, who was killed by rocket fire in an attack in Iraq on March 19. The names will appear in order of the date each service member was lost, beginning Sept. 2001.
Laura Herzog, founder of Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit that provides support to families of slain service members and who set up a fundraising campaign for the wall, says it's taken a few years for this memorial to come to life.
"I have been full of emotion and tears more so than ever," said Herzog. "We have supported five fallen hero funerals in the last two months all while preparing and watching this wall that has been my vision for many years."
Herzog says the total cost for the memorial will be close to $70,000. About $17,000 was donated by the family of a young Marine killed in combat, while an online fundraising campaign has raised over $14,000.
"I have always told each family I have served, 'We will do all we can to ensure your family's sacrifice is not forgotten' and this wall is one way we will do that," Herzog said.
U.S. & World
Honoring Our Fallen has set up a GoFundMe page where donations can be made here.
An unveiling ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. at Rosie the Riveter Park located at Clark Avenue and Conant Street on Memorial Day.
